Calling all C25K before and afters!

Bearface115

I'm really liking the c25k program and I'd like to get peoples testimonies! Photos are helpful, but even decribing tour journey is inspirational for me! On Friday in doing my W1W3!!!

00trayn

I somewhat followed it for the first half of the program, then went on my own and just ran as long as possible and stopped to walk when I had to. Eventually after a few months total I worked my way up to running the entire 5K distance. I ran my first 5K in May of this year and finished in under 40 minutes! I've run 2 5Ks since then and I've got my time down to 35:26, something I NEVER though I'd be able to do! My next goal is to get it under 35 minutes, I'm planning to run more races in the fall.

lazirlott

I just completed the program, based on time not distance, and want to encourage you: YOU CAN DO IT! When I started I was wiped out after the programs in weeks 2 and 3, huffing and puffing. But now I can run (actually jog) for the whole 30 minutes; a big difference. I did have to repeat some days and weeks; if I couln't complete the workout or felt like it was killing me when I did.....I repeated. I used an iphone app and got one of those arm bands to hold the phone. The app said when to run and when to walk so that I didn't have to keep looking at my watch. It feels great to have made such a change. It is still hard to make the 30 minutes, but I am going to keep running that until I feel more comfortable then begin to work on distance and speed as I am slow, and not covering 5K in the 30 minute run time

LilSomethin

I love C25K!!! I'm starting W7D1 today I was never a runner and am pleasantly surprised at how much I love this program and that I can actually do it lol I might actually get the nerve to actually run a 5K soon

just4peachy

I did very much the same thing, followed it until I was more comfortable making my own program. I still have to walk sometimes (asthmatic) but I wouldn't be doing it at all if it wasn't for C25k. I'm even training for my first half marathon right now :bigsmile:

Good luck to you!!

ahunt888

I can't tell you how wonderful the program has been for me. When I first started, W1D1 was hell for me. I didn't think I could get through even the 60 seconds of jogging. I absolutely wanted to quit and give up. Lucky for me, I have a runner friend who wouldn't let me. I stuck with it and this past Friday I ran 5k for the first time in my life. It is the most amazing sense of accomplishment when you finally do it. I've alternated the program with other exercises like swimming and walking. And it definitely took me longer than 9 weeks because I was so out of shape to begin with. But it was definitely worth it. Not only did it help with my weight loss, it taught me that exercise can actually be an enjoyable activity in itself. I feel strong and proud of myself. Good luck to you! My main advice would be to go slower if you need to. I had to repeat days and/or weeks if I couldn't make it through or just felt that I needed to be stronger before I moved on. And remember when it gets tough that it will be worth it at the end!

amo13

I absolutely LOVE C25K. It was perfect for keeping me on a workout schedule. Loved it so much that I've started the B210K program [starting week 2 today]. Absolutely highly recommend it to everyone.

runningfromzombies

I didn't take pictures. Bah. I was doing things other than C25K while I was on it, though--at first other cardio (cross-training) the days I wasn't running, and then I started doing weight training during the last three weeks of it.

But, to give some perspective: I started C25K in late March, and finished it in early June. I did it based on distance rather than time, and I did have to repeat two days of Week 5, but other than that, it was smooth sailing. Since then I've regularly run 5K three days a week. And I ran my first official 5K on Monday in Coronado--came in with a time of 29 minutes, 35 seconds! It was a huge victory for me, and I really have C25K to thank for easing me into running.

Now I'm planning on running four days a week, and today I ran four miles, without stopping, in 45 minutes, a new personal record for distance for me. (:

I lost about 9 pounds while I was on C25K, too. Definite plus.

zoombie_bear

I to somewhat fallowed the program, did the watch, fast walk, then run and diffident interval
Last wk I did my 1st 5K without fast-walking, ran the entire way, listened to my body and did it!

Brownski860

I walk at 3mph on the treadmill and jog at 4mph. is that ok to start?

nuttyfamily

Quick and dirty on my success with it...

Never ran in life (would walk the one mile test in HS) literally.

I did walking for exercise for many years. Would try to jog a block and couldn't even do that.

Started C25K last August at the age of 42. Finished in October.

I have run five 5ks, two 10ks and am just starting a program to run a 1/2 in October!

LorinaLynn

I'm a graduate!

From when I started in late December to when I ran my first 5k in March (in 29:42!) I'd lost 18 pounds. I started at 5mph (12 minute mile) on the treadmill, and by my 2nd and 3rd 5ks in April, I finished right around 28 minutes, a 6.7 mph (9 minute mile) pace. Even keeping the same pace for a 5 mile race in early May, finishing just 7 seconds behind my very athletic 25 year old niece. Not bad for an old broad who never ran before!

I haven't done any normal races (Warrior Dash was far from NORMAL!) since, but I've been training for a 10k (July 23rd) and know my speed and endurance has picked up since then.

Stick with it. It's an amazing feeling of accomplishment.

deeharley

Bump - I'm starting this - I'm on like week negative three. I could only run 30 seconds when I started. I want to read lots of stories.

amsparky

I super puffy heart love C25K!

I just graduated and while I am slow as hell, I can no jog (waddle, wog, whatever you want to call it) for 35-55 minutes at a time. I am going to keep on with little mini goals for myself as I am not yet running a 5k in the 30 minute time frame (I am no where NEAR this) and go from there.

There were times when I thought that there was no way on the face of the planet that I would survive. But I did. And I am so proud of myself for doing so!!

Because of this program, I can now say that I jog 3x a week! NEVER in my life did I think I would ever say that!

stenochick

LOVED the C25K program. I admit it, I still struggle with running as I am not a natural-born runner. But I love the feeling I get when I am all done. The trick for me in the c25k is mind over matter. You want to stop; your body is tired. Do your best not to stop unless you're in real pain. Just push through those rough spots. I try to distract myself. I'll start mouthing the words to the songs I'm listening to or do math in my head (I suck at math so it's a challenge with no pencil and paper) or count my steps until I'm through the rough spot.

that being said, I would recommend this program to anyone who will listen. I have no pictures but I did keep track of my weight and measurements. I didn't lose too much weight -- 5 lbs, but I wasn't eating consistently super-duper either. I lost 1.5 inches off my waist, 3" off my hips, 2.5" off what I call my "butt" measurement, basically lower hip area, 3" off my bustline, and 3" off each thigh in the 9 weeks to complete the program. I've since participated in a few 5k races and they've been so fun. I think the last one I clocked in around 35/36 minutes. I'll start participating more this fall. I plan to participate in a 10k hopefully this november. GOOD LUCK!

LadyPersia

I absolutely love it!!!C25k week 5 day 2

amuhlou

I completed it in August 2010 and finished my first 5k in September 2010. My goal was to complete a 5k with zero walking and C25k helped me do that.

I don't consider myself to have any natural running talent and have allergies that frequently make it difficult to breathe through my nose, so I focused on the times set forth by the program rather than distance. It was a lot easier to "jog for 20 minutes" than try and jog 2 miles. There was no way I could run 10 minute miles at that time. Do what works best for you and don't be afraid to repeat a week, day, whatever!

After completing the program, I jogged on my own doing a combination of long runs at a slower speed and shorter runs at a faster speed and in April I did another 5k and showed a huge improvement in time. My gains have been slow but they have still been gains. I don't expect to ever be a fast runner, but I like knowing that I can run for 3+ miles if I need to.

I still remember how painful it was in the beginning of the program... things jiggling and such. But it really does get better... your body will change and your wind will improve.

daryls

I did the C25K last year and ran my first 5K on Thanksgiving Day. I ran it in a little over 30 minutes. Then in February I ran my second in 29:29 minutes. I also did a 10K run in 1:06 and a 10K hike (12% grade) at a rather slow pace 1:42

I am able to run at about 6mph but I am thinking about adding in some sprints at higher speeds to get a little faster.

I had to stop running in April after a knee injury but I got the all clear from my PT and have started running again. I'm doing between 2.5 and 4 miles now. I am training for a 5 miler in August!

Good luck to all you runners!!!

mrsgsnow

I followed the C25K program back in 2009 and ran my first 5k in September that year. I was hooked the minute I crossed the finish line. I had never run before... in my life... I hated it! Since then, however, I've run several 5k's, fun runs, 10k's, a half-marathon, 2 full marathons and am planning on completing 4 marathons between Nov '11- Feb '12!!!

http://snowrunningmama.blogspot.com

Suedre

I started running with modified C25K program with a local running club. They were able to do the 5K at the end of 10 weeks; I was only up to about a mile with no hills. I struggled for three more months until one day; I went out for a training run and just ran. All the hills that I normally struggled to just get to the top felt like small potatoes. Before I knew it, I hit three miles. I haven't stopped since. Since then, I've finished several 5Ks, two 10Ks, a half marathon and I'm currently training for a marathon in Oct and one following in Jan. My times get better and better and one day I hope to be a sub 10/minute miler for the full.

I don’t have any pictures of when I got started, but I do have a thread posting from a couple of months ago with all the gory details.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/226456-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-started-running

Congratulations and good luck!!

Bearface115

that is amazing everyone! keep the good news a-coming!!! :-) i cant wait to do my jog now on friday!!

corbansmom

I will hopefully have some pics in about 2 weeks. I am on W8D3 tomorrow. I started running a week before C25k, and picked up on week 5 of the program. I have run 5 days a week, doubling up two of the runs each week. I love it! I highly recommend going to a running shoe store to get fitted for running shoes. I also make sure to stretch after a warmup walk before running and again afterwards. I try to eat a banana each day for the potassium that helps with leg cramps. I usually read Hebrew 12:1 before I run and pray for a great, safe run without pain. If pain comes, I pray the Lord takes it away, for HE is greater than any pain I may have, and He gets me through it. He hasn't let me down yet! Good "luck" with your journey!

Bearface115

I will hopefully have some pics in about 2 weeks. I am on W8D3 tomorrow. I started running a week before C25k, and picked up on week 5 of the program. I have run 5 days a week, doubling up two of the runs each week. I love it! I highly recommend going to a running shoe store to get fitted for running shoes. I also make sure to stretch after a warmup walk before running and again afterwards. I try to eat a banana each day for the potassium that helps with leg cramps. I usually read Hebrew 12:1 before I run and pray for a great, safe run without pain. If pain comes, I pray the Lord takes it away, for HE is greater than any pain I may have, and He gets me through it. He hasn't let me down yet! Good "luck" with your journey!

i cant wait to see or progresss!!!

ALW65

I can't begin to describe how happy I am that I learned about C25K from the MFP community. Even at a normal weight in my teens and twenties I could not run one lap around a track. I figured I couldn't even think about running until I'd lost a bunch of weight, but the success of other people on MFP convinced me to give it a try. I started the program on 4-10-11 and could barely make one minute of running. I'm not drastically overweight, but had about 70 pounds to lose at that point.

I had a hard time when I needed to run more than 3 minutes and found out I had a touch of exercise-induced asthma and got an inhaler. That did the trick to get me over that hump. I haven't been able to be consistent with the runs due to work demands, but I did my first 20 minute run about one week ago.

Yesterday, after missing about 5 days, I decided to see if I could just run the whole 5K. I mapped the route through my neighborhood to figure out a route that hit that distance, and took a route with a bit of an incline at the start. Although I couldn't make it the whole way, I was THRILLED that I ran 2 1/2 miles!!!! It did take me 40 minutes, but that's okay.

Once I get the distance down I can start working on speed. I still cannot believe that it was ME running for TWO AND A HALF MILES!!!! Once I make the 5K distance I'm going to take new pics, but I have lost weight and inches since starting and am definitely looking more shapely now. By the way, I went with the iPhone app and carry my phone. I did invest in some quality running shoes and a really good running bra - both very much worth the money.

I always, always, always wanted to be able to run (I even used to have dreams about running long distances) and now I am! Talk about a confidence booster. In short, if you're thinking about C25K, definitely go for it. Don't worry if you have to repeat certain runs several times. Just keep at it. As people told me, "If I can do it, you can do it!" You will feel so much pride, burn calories, and be so glad you did it! I'll be starting the bridge to 5K later this month and I'm really looking forward to that!

Best of luck to all of you! Anita

wildside79

Amazing program - I'm a graduate and my wife and daughter are on week 4.

two years ago I tried running to get back in shape without a program and just ended up with shin splints that lasted over a month and basically took me out of the game. This program got me more confident, lost more weight (its much harder of a work out then an elliptical), and now just 2 weeks after the program I run my first real 5k on saturday. I used gmaps-pedometer to map out about 3.15 mile track around my house and my best run is 26'40".

After the 5k I'm going to be moving to the bridge into 10k program.

GaveUp

I have a treadmill with a 5K training program on it. I was half way through my training and I injured myself (abductor pull) but I loved it and was at a 13 minute mile.

Can't wait until I completely heal to get started again.

KeriA

I am on Week 3 Day 2 tomorrow. So far so good.

bonjour24

c25k is awesome!!!
i have a similar testimonial to everyone else. i started running (without c25k- running between lamp posts, then to street corners and slowly increasing my distance, but i got a bit lost because i had nothing structured to help me push myself). i started at about week 2 (i could already run a little), but it was just superb for helping me get on with it. i liked that i had a set time to run for- it made it easier to just keep on going! i cried when i ran for 20 mins for the 1st time- the only time (at that point) i had ever ran that far!
the whole program made me feel really proud of myself. i was doable- challenging also. but great. and i completed it quite fast- i went out about 5-6 times a week. but i still run quite slowly, but i'm getting faster. i was running about a 14 min mile before (walkers could pass me!!), and now i'm at a 12 min mile.
now i'm training for a half marathon in october!!! running is now my 'thing'. it's nice to have a 'thing'. i've never had a 'thing' before.

Bearface115

c25k is awesome!!!
i have a similar testimonial to everyone else. i started running (without c25k- running between lamp posts, then to street corners and slowly increasing my distance, but i got a bit lost because i had nothing structured to help me push myself). i started at about week 2 (i could already run a little), but it was just superb for helping me get on with it. i liked that i had a set time to run for- it made it easier to just keep on going! i cried when i ran for 20 mins for the 1st time- the only time (at that point) i had ever ran that far!
the whole program made me feel really proud of myself. i was doable- challenging also. but great. and i completed it quite fast- i went out about 5-6 times a week. but i still run quite slowly, but i'm getting faster. i was running about a 14 min mile before (walkers could pass me!!), and now i'm at a 12 min mile.
now i'm training for a half marathon in october!!! running is now my 'thing'. it's nice to have a 'thing'. i've never had a 'thing' before.

Running i s becoming a THING of mine too! how cool!!

ElisaRazz

i really want to try it, is it best to do it on the treadmill or out in the open?

cheeksv

I was running before c25k for a half hour. Then I took two months off, Big mistake! I started from scratch and it was harder this time around. Its not easy running, and having to go from point A all over again was somewhat mentally challenging. I felt I had already done this! I stumbled on C25k ( around the same time I stumbled on MFP coincidence? I think not.) It made all the difference and, has helped with my mental block and stamina. Taking it outside soon but am already pleased with the results