What can you tell me about C25k?

mjshmily

:blushing: I can't believe I'm actually posting this....me...interested in running? Will wonders never cease?

But I keep hearing about it, reading about it and wondering if maybe I couldn't do it. I've googled and read a fair bit on it but I have some questions. If I could afford a learn to run clinic I'd go, right now that's not an option.

Right now I walk a lot. Generally 2.5-3 miles between 5 and 6 times a week. I'm not the fastest. I have a GPS tracker and it clocks me between 2.8-3.4 MPH. A lot of this is on gravel roads as you can only do so many loops through a tiny town. I am not very fit and my cardio isn't very good, but hey I'm trying to improve it. Do I need to be a certain fitness level or should I wait to try something like this until I am a bit lighter?

I have some achilles tendon issues and flexion can be a bit of an issue but generally as long as I wrap my ankle and don't go up steep hills I am ok. Other than that, aside from the fact that I am overweight and lumpy and slow and easily winded I see no problems :blushing:

So I guess I am looking for some words of wisdom from those who run. How hard should a person push when they first start? Do those jogging intervals need to be fairly quick or can they be done as a slow jog? What else do I need to know? Or should I just be sticking to walking until I am lighter?

hbrittingham

It works, that much I can tell you.

You will need to stretch really well after each session, especially if you are having achilles tendon issues. I hope you are doing some serious stretching after walking.

treyatime

Hi There
I started C25K back in August. I am currently at W4D3. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. I think its a very good program to build endurance and stamina. I heard many people repeat weeks until they feel they are able to move on to the next. It is supposed to be for beginners so as long as you go at your own pace, you should be fine.

mjshmily

It works, that much I can tell you.

You will need to stretch really well after each session, especially if you are having achilles tendon issues. I hope you are doing some serious stretching after walking.

Oh yeah, I have a set of stretches my physician has me do and I follow them pretty well to the letter.

trail_turtle

You've been walking, so you can do this.

One great thing about the C25K program is that you can repeat any weeks that you feel you need to--and it's based on time increments, not distance, so however fast (or slow) you are, it's not that big a deal.

I know a few people who have done the C25K program and then went back to do it again to build up their speed and endurance.

Me? I still like to run/walk in intervals. That may change as I lose more weight...but we'll see!

Research proper running form and view videos--I can't stress enough how much the information I learned helped me. (If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a message.)

Good luck!

pinbotchick

I finished C25K last year and have progressed to running 3 half marathons I run slowly and train between 14 to 15 min per mile slow jog pace. You can start and run/jog at any pace that is comfortable for you. The goal is to just do it.

As for shoes and your achilles: If you are going to do it, I'd invest in a good pair of running shoes ($150 or so)... Go to a running store and the staff will analyze your walk and run for free - they will then suggest the best type of shoes to help you compensate for abnormal deviations. I tend to pronate (flat foot) and needed shoes built up to prevent it. Once I got good running shoes, my foot and knee pains went away.

My best advice for completing C25K - running is a mental sport and finishing week 5 is a mental challenge. You have to believe you can do it - then you will. It is very hard to judge your pace when running outside - most runners tend to run too fast and burn themselves out - slow down and then slow down some more and you will finish. Once you can jog for 30 min straight and have completed C25K, you can work on Fartlek training - if you want to run faster.