C25K Starting 8/8- Open group for encouragement!

brendalyne

Linbee 83 & J - Feel free to just start calling me MOM! I have 3 children ranging in age from 29 to 33, and 2 step-children ages 26 & 29. So yes indeedy, you would fit right into my clan!

In fact EVERYONE on this message string could be my children! The next oldest is age 35! 19 years my junior! Yikes...not sure how that makes me feel! Old? Yeah a little....but also pumped that I'm keeping up with you "kids"!

Brings new meaning to the phrase "running after the kids"! I guess I'm kinda running after my MFP kids! You all better watch out cuz I just MIGHT catch you!

brendalyne

Week 2, Day 2 is DONE! (I'm behind due to my stupid ankle!). I felt great this morning....and I even ended with 2 1/2 minutes of jogging instead of 1 1/2!

My max heart rate is 166 (hey, I'm old....it's gonna be lower than you young chicks!)
My target range is 133 to 149 (j - I did look at my HRM book again and moved my range up to 80-90% of max, rather than 70-80%.)
My average heart rate was 124 bpm
My peak was 163 bpm

The weird thing is that I was actually only in my target range for around 3 minutes out of 25. I kept glancing at my monitor and when I was jogging it zoomed quickly into the 150's (above target) and when I started walking it quickly dropped below 133. So, the good news is that I THINK my recovery period is shortening pretty dramatically...which I believe means that my heart is getting stronger! YAY! But I also wonder if I need to increase my walking speed a bit too to increase my heart rate a bit. I was walking at a pace of 4 to 4.2 mph today. I'm going to talk to my daughter this weekend and ask her advice.....she's an RN and has used a personal trainer and run a marathon.....so she's my "go to" girl!

ladyjoie

I just started this yesterday, I was considering getting into running anyway but it's nice to see a support group for it! I first heard of it about a year ago (same time I heard of 100 pushups) but I didn't start doing it because I always thought I hated running. Well, I've been doing a lot of a walking, and starting to think about running and being on this site I saw that it came recommended - so I thought I'd give it another go. And here I am. : )

brendalyne

Welcome ladyjoie - the more the merrier!

j_courter

ladyjoie- welcome aboard! keep us posted on your progress and we'll be here to encourage and support you! :-)

brendalyne- you're only as old as you feel and you are certainly younger than you were 5 years ago, right?! you're doing a great job. way to go!

i checked my max heart rate per the info my husband gave me... once i've been exercising, back off for a bit then run all out for 1 minute. according to that, my max is 181. i've been estimating it at 185, so that was pretty close. he said his was around 203. MAN!

anyway, here are my results for today: Week 2- Day 3

I started out with about as much coordination as if I were running through snow, but after I finished my second running interval, i felt a lot more smooth. I didn’t eat or drink anything this morning before my run and didn’t have side pains, but trying to breathe as suggested was hopeless. I guess I can’t breathe and run at the same time! (good thing i didn't have gum in my mouth, i probably would have died!)

Avg. 153
1:20 under tz
17:20 in tz
13:00 above
31:40 total recorded + 6 min

brendalyne

J - I was thinking about you this morning as I was jogging...and realized that my "method" of breathing is to simply concentrate on the breathing OUT part....the breathing IN seems more "automatic". Doing it that way helps me to get into a nice breathing rhythm. Also - After reading your post I think I may need to be a little more "scientific" about my max heart rate. I just used the formula in the HRM manual which just said to subtract your age from 220. That's how I came up with 166.

I may run tomorrow instead of waiting until Sunday, so I can get back on track with M,W,F runs again. This early in the game, I really don't think doing 2 days in a row will bother me since I was doing some jogging before I started this program.

Have a great weekend everyone!

brendalyne

W2D3 is done! I tried pushing my speed up a little more today. Here's my HRM results: Average 127 bpm, Peak 183 bpm, Calories burned 347

I will start Week 3 on Monday! I'm glad I got back on track this week and got all 3 in even though it meant 2 days in a row yesterday and today.

Happy running everyone!

hwilliams519

I would love to join this group too, if it's not too late. Earlier this summer I was doing the c25k program. I was almost finished with week 5 before I quit. The next workout was to jog/run 20 minutes straight, and I just got scared and avoided it for a while. I was thinking about starting back but was having a lot of back pain. But I can tell my back is getting better, and the pain is little to none these past few days. So I think I'm ready to pick up the pace a bit. I'm not sure what the best starting spot would be for me. I know I need to back track some, but don't know if I should just start again from the beginning or pick up around week 3. Maybe I'll just see what I can do tonight and go from there.

brendalyne

hwilliams - the more the merrier! Sounds like a good idea to just see how you feel this week. Maybe you could do week 1 for one day, week 2 for 1 day and week 3 for one day and see how it feels. Then next week you can decide if you need to do another full week of week 3, or move up to week 4.

I had to be at work early today so I didn't get my run in yet. I will be running after I get home. First day of the week and I'm already off my "usual schedule". Oh well! Happy walking/running everyone!

linbee83

Week 2 is done! Yay! I feel better and stronger!

Welcome hwilliams & ladyjoie! As they said, the more the merrier! Maybe you will be encouraged to finish the whole program!

I'm probably going to end up trying to start week 3 today so I can do MWF. TTS doesn't work for me with my schedule.

hwilliams519

hwilliams - the more the merrier! Sounds like a good idea to just see how you feel this week. Maybe you could do week 1 for one day, week 2 for 1 day and week 3 for one day and see how it feels. Then next week you can decide if you need to do another full week of week 3, or move up to week 4.

I had to be at work early today so I didn't get my run in yet. I will be running after I get home. First day of the week and I'm already off my "usual schedule". Oh well! Happy walking/running everyone!

That sounds like a good idea. I will let you know how it goes. And I have faith you will get it done.

Rachel1913

I'd love to join you all. I started C25K on 8/8 and am planning to do week 3 day 1 this evening. I'm so excited about what I'm already able to do with this program, but I have to admit, I'm a little apprehensive about the upcoming weeks. The support of a group would be wonderful.

j_courter

hwilliams and rachel- welcome to our little group! i'm so glad we're still growing! :-) it really helps to have a little accountability and a lot of encouragement when you have a goal.

hwilliams- i don't know if your back pain will come back or not, but i can't say enough fabulous things about winsor pilates for a troublesome back. if you strengthen your core muscles, the back pain may very well not return! by the way, i love your verse. :-) have you ever tried the free christian indie podcast on itunes for c25k?

is anyone else using the regular c25k free app? i went to try week 3, but couldn't get it... maybe it only goes up to week 2? i am so technically illeterate!

anyway, here are my results for today:

Running felt great today. I was finally able to get the breathing thing under control and when I started to get a side stitch I just focused on breathing out (thanks brendalyne!) and it brought me through.

Avg: 156
1:00 under tz
17:00 in tz
15:20 over tz

yeah, i know... i ran/walked more than i was supposed to... i just can't help myself! it didn't feel like enough of a workout today! the first 5-6 minutes are usually horrible, but after that my natural rhythm kicks in and i just want to keep going! :-)

hwilliams519

j_courter- i have not tried any apps of podcasts for that. but I will look into it. thanks

j_courter

brendalyne- several posts back your peak was about 163 but recently it was over 180... WOW! that's quite a difference! it's probably higher from "chasing after" all your mfp kids! ;-) hee hee.

brendalyne

brendalyne- several posts back your peak was about 163 but recently it was over 180... WOW! that's quite a difference! it's probably higher from "chasing after" all your mfp kids! ;-) hee hee.

J - You inspired me to do one minute full out, as fast as I could go to see how high I could get my heart rate! And that was IT! After that 1 minute I backed it off to somewhere between 5.2 and 5.5 mph during the jogging intervals.

brendalyne

I'd love to join you all. I started C25K on 8/8 and am planning to do week 3 day 1 this evening. I'm so excited about what I'm already able to do with this program, but I have to admit, I'm a little apprehensive about the upcoming weeks. The support of a group would be wonderful.

Rachel, you are NOT ALONE in your apprehension of the upcoming weeks! That's the beauty of being part of a support group. And I'm glad you joined us!

Rachel1913

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Week 3 day 1 is done. I was amazed that I was able to run for the three minutes without too much difficulty. I even added an extra running interval at the end of the workout.

j_courter, I do use a C25K app. I used the free one for the first week, but didn't like just hearing the beeps, so I purchased one for $2.99 that talks to you. It tells you when you're halfway done, when you have a minute left of running, etc. You can also play your music with it.

I see some of you are using heart rate monitors. I need to get one. What kind are you using?

brendalyne

Week 3, Day 2 is DONE! Yesterday (Monday) was a bust exercise-wise. Had to be at work early, then I worked late and when I got home I remembered I had a community club meeting (a dinner meeting) and I had enough time to change clothes and leave. I didn't get home until 9:00, so I just went for a short walk outside before calling it a night!

This morning I felt really groggy....and I will blame the "heavy" meal that was served the night before! I felt MUCH better after doing the C25K workout!

HRM results: Avg 127 bpm; Peak 172 bpm; Calories 424!

Rachel - my HRM is a Timex. It was about $50 on Amazon. Most people on MFP seem to recommend a Polar HRM (can't recall exactly what it was.....but if you search the message board, you'll find LOTS of threads on the subject.) Whatever you decide to get - make sure it has a chest strap. The ones without the chest strap are much less accurate.

chi88

I started and completed week 1 day 1, yesterday. My coworkers and I will be doing a 5k in October and I'm hoping that this will assist me with my running, as I am so not a runner. I usually have some foot problems but recently invested in some Nike Frees and I didn't experience any discomfort while running. I'm so amped and ready to train for the race.

linbee83

Welcome chi88! I hope the shoes will keep you from delevoping the pain. The program also should help ease you in to it.

Didn't do week 3 yesterday as intended. I wasn't feeling as up to it, (plus I'm a bit scared of it...3 minutes!). I did do a lot of cardio on the elliptical and on the bike. And some strength. So I didn't slack off, I just took my "rest" day. I am looking forward to conquering it today though! Hoorah!

brendalyne

Here's a couple of tidbits of advice on facing jogging for longer periods of time: 1. Accept that it's just as much mental as physical. If you tell yourself you can't do it, you'll be right. If you convince yourself you CAN do it, you'll also be right. 2. Go as SLOW AS YOU NEED TO GO TO KEEP GOING. This isn't a race....don't worry about how FAR you went in 3 minutes.....just jog as slowly as necessary to keep one foot going in front of the other for a full 3 minutes.

I have never been very "athletic". 7 years ago I had lost quite a bit of weight, but was stuck, so I started walking, them my walking turned into "jogging". (Believe me, someone with longer legs than me, could have walked as fast as I was "jogging".) At the time my daughter was training for a marathon, so she was the one who "inspired" me. When I actually made it for a full mile without stopping I couldn't wait to tell her. And I can tell you from experience that once I made it that far, going 1 1/2 miles, then 2 miles didn't take nearly as long to accomplish.....and it was mostly mental at that point. It wasn't EASY mind you....but those first few days & weeks when I was huffing and puffing like a steam engine after one minute weren't "easy" either. Once you start conditioning the old heart muscle it DOES get better.

So the worst thing that will happen is that you may decide to do week 3, or 4 or whatever for more than just 1 week. So what? No one HERE is going to give you any grief over it! Take it as slow as you need to go.....jog as slow as you need to go to keep going. But also don't be afraid of pushing yourself either.....and decide right now to work on the mental part of this. Decide before you even step on the treadmill or walk out the door that you CAN do it!

We will each do it at our own pace...but WE can do this! I hope this helps!

hwilliams519

Here's a couple of tidbits of advice on facing jogging for longer periods of time: 1. Accept that it's just as much mental as physical. If you tell yourself you can't do it, you'll be right. If you convince yourself you CAN do it, you'll also be right.

This is so true Brenda! When I tried this program before, I didn't think I could do 3 minutes, 5 minutes, or 8 minutes. But I thought I would at least try it, and if I couldn't do it then I would accept it. But because I pushed myself to try, I was so amazed when I actually jogged for that long. There was one day where I had to run 16 minutes total, with intervals of course. I really thought there's no way...I'm just not a runner. But I gave it a whirl, and that was the biggest accomplishment. That's when I realized that it's all mental. And to take it a step further, when I saw that week 5 day 3 was to jog 20 minutes straight without any walking in between, I got scared. And you know what I did? I kept putting it off, and eventually quit. So yes, if you tell yourself that you can do it, then you can. If you tell yourself that you can't, then you won't. But I'm back now to give it another go. And I'm not going to stand in my own way this time. If you can't do it, just do what you can until you can do that 3 minutes or 20 minutes.

j_courter

my heart rate monitor is an OLD polar accurex nv. it's a dinosaur but it does have a chest strap and still works great!

chi88- welcome! shoes can make all the difference in the world! i'm glad you found a pair that works for you!

brendalyne- thanks for the post of encouragement... you certainly have a gift. thanks for keeping us going! :-) oh, and 424 calories???!?!?! you're a shredder! way to burn! :-)

hwilliams- you're going to nail week 5, day 3 this time around! i know you can! :-) where did you decide to start this time around?

linbee- i understand your apprehension about the three minute run. i was pretty nervous too! today was a little difficult, but once i got my mind out of the way, my body took over! take your time, pick a pace you can maintain and go for it! you CAN do this. we're behind you 100%! :-)

okay, and now for my results for the day:

The first three minute run forced me to really push myself mentally today, but my body made it through to the other side. I ran on the paved road (as opposed to the dirt road) for 100 yards or so today and WOW does that make a difference! It felt SO much easier! I may have to do a paved road run some weekend to see how it goes. I never really thought there would be that big of a difference between dirt and asphalt, but I imagine between my simply tone shoes forcing me to balance myself better on the loose gravel and just the extra effort it takes, it does make a difference. When I got home, my 11 year old daughter had made me breakfast… ¾ C of Oatmeal with 2/3 C of brown sugar! I am probably a horrible mommy, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat it!

Avg: 152
10:30 above tz
11:40 in tz
2:50 under tz

I did notice that my heart rate is dropping back down more quickly than it has in the past. my heart is getting stronger! yee-haw! oh, and ladies, my legs aren't nearly as flabby anymore! (what jillian's 30 day shred couldn't do in 30 days, c25k has done in just a few weeks!) i am almost ready to stop calling myself thunder thighs! when i'm in a sitting position and lift my leg up i see a big flat muscle on the outside of my thigh! (still have a little fluff inside, but it's shrinking too!) bonus!

linbee83

Thanks sooo much for the encouragement mfp-Mom!

Through my apprehension, I managed to burn through Week 3, day 1 last night. The first 3 minute made me nervous, but I got it done and felt great! The second was a bit harder, because I was getting tired at that point. But them Limp Bizkit's Rollin' (the explicit one) came on my iPod, and it gave me an extra burst of bad a** energy! I made it all the way through the whole workout, and managed to do another 1/2 mile on the elliptical afterwards! I'm a little beat and sore today, but nothing bad.

j - I noticed that too with the heart rate! It takes much less time for my heart and breathing to recover...even after the longer run! I am feeling stronger.

On another note...today is turning out to be a bad day! It was fine until I started to go to work! I fell trying to get in the car and almost twisted my ankle badly, but it seems to be ok now. Then I stopped by Sweet Bay to pick up some Club Soda because my tummy was killing me for eating McDonald's for lunch. (Sm fry, 6 piece nugget...nothing too bad! No soda). I got there and the line I was in stalled, so I moved to another, and they stalled. The first line got going again, and had I waited I would have gotten through. So, I was almost late to work. Then when I get here, one of the staff members called in, and we were already short for the day to begin with! So there is only 3 of us to do a 6 to 8 person job! *sigh* Maybe this afternoon will get better....

brendalyne

Thanks sooo much for the encouragement mfp-Mom!

Any time kiddo! :happy: And I am so happy for you that you made it through Week 3, Day 1! And then you did another 1/2 mile on the ELLIPTICAL??? Wow - you have every reason to be proud of yourself. I DO hope that the rest of your day turns out better than the way it started! Take it easy on the ankle the rest of the day and tomorrow for sure.

J - So, basically....you're turning into a Road Runner! Meep meep!!! :laugh: And one with muscular thighs to boot! That's so awesome to "discover" muscles!

I did Day 2, Week 3 this morning before work. My average was 127 bpm, peak was 162 bpm, and cals burned 398. So, my "peak number was down"....I really felt pretty good during the entire 32 minutes....but evidentaly I didn't push myself quite as hard as yesterday.

Tomorrow I'm taking the day off and will focus mostly on strength training. One of my MFP friends has issued a challenge to do X number of push-ups, sit-ups, etc. I accepted the challenge to do that first thing tomorrow morning!

Keep on trucking kids!

hwilliams519

j_ thanks for asking. I have been super busy so far this week and have not been able to jump back in yet. I did play with my 3 yr old neice and held my almost 30lb (11month) nephew for a while yesterday, and I'm walking 3 miles with a MFP buddy tonight. Going to a diabetis class or seminar thing with my mom tomorrow. So it will prob be Friday before I can start. But I will def let you know how it goes. I'm going to review the program before I go, and see how long I can go for the first jogging interval and go from there. I'm thinking I can prob start with the 3 min run, but we'll see. It may be more or less, but that will give me a good idea of where I'm at. And you're right...I will make it thru this time!

That was so cute that your daughter made you breakfast...too bad about all that sugar. Did you talk about it with her?

linbee I do better when I hear a kick *kitten* song too. I love to run to stuff like Korn or Ozzy. Really gets me pumped up. Also last time I tried this, at the end of the workouts when I didn't think I could do anymore, I just pretended that Jillian Michaels was standing beside me yelling "ARE YOU A QUITTER? KEEP GOING!" It helped me at the time. Guess I need to bring my pretend trainer back with me this go around.

hwilliams519

Ok, so I lied. I will not wait to Friday, because after my hr walk with a local mfp buddy, I felt great! I had absolutely no back pain at the time, which is the first time in a long time. When I got back to the apt my hubby had a friend over, so I thought it was a great time to go to the apt gym and give it a whirl....

So since I had already walked for a hr, I just did a 1 min warm up and then started running at 5mph. I covered the timer on the treadmill and just ran until I needed a break. It felt so good to run again. I haven't ran in prob 2 months. I was surprised how long I could go. And how long did I go you ask? When I uncovered the timer I realized that I had just ran for 5 whole minutes no problem! Whooot Whooot. So that means I was able to pick back up with week 5. And it felt so easy!

So that means week 5, day 1 is complete! I will do week 5, day 2 either Friday or Saturday. When it comes to day 3 with the 20 minute run (that made me drop out before) I will just give it my all and be positive. If I can only do 10 before I need a break, then that's what I'll do. If it takes me weeks to master the 20 minutes, that's fine. Brenda (aka Mom) I will listen to you and go at my own pace. But I will make it thru the 20 and eventually the 30.

j_courter

i'm a road runner... meep meep! lol... funny brendalyne!

hwilliams- wow! 5 minutes! that's fantastic. yeah for level 5! oh, and i did talk to my daughter about the oatmeal. she didn't feel too badly, just upset that she didn't get it right.

linbee- i hope your day got better and your ankle is okay... just remember we cannot control our circumstances, but we can control how we react to them. just try to focus on the positives and find the good in every situation. our attitudes can really make a big difference! :-)

today, on the fly, i decided to do jillian's 30 day shred- level 1 with my daughter. i thought," yeah, i've finished this, i'll breeze through it, it'll be easy."... well, i just have to tell you, she still made me sweat! my arms were shaky an hour later! :-) the good news is i struggled through the cardio when i started the shred last month... this time around it wasn't even a challenge! yeah for progress.

i'm hopeful that my zumba game for the wii will be in today too... i may have to do that today as well.

linbee83

My ankle is fine, thanks everyone for asking. Yesterday did not turn out any better at all, I made mistake after mistake and just generally everything went to crap. But when I got home, the baby took one look at me and just hugged and hugged me all night. That so helped.

I also did not get my C25k in this morning like I planned because I woke up with a major migraine, and only just got rid of it before I had to go to work. Thankfully I had to go in late today, but that means I also can't go tonight. Now because I had to take some medication for the headache, my stomach is bothering me again. *sigh* I can't win this week. Oh well. I do plan to get myself to they gym tomorrow, hopefully dragging the hubby along with me, and try to get day 2 of week 3 done. It looks like I should be starting my weeks on Mondays and ending them with Sundays, because that always seems to be how my weeks work out. That isn't too bad. Anyway, enough about me!

hwilliams - that is awesome! Go for it! I also didn't think about Korn, I have to add them to my playlists!

J - you go too! One thing with the running, it does help with all things cardio. Have fun with your Zumba!