Couch to 5k Week 5, Day 3

stumblinthrulife

Tomorrow morning I'll be doing Week 5, Day 3 of C25k. First run with no walking intervals - 20 straight minutes.

Something I wouldn't have blinked at age 18 in the best shape of my life, but at 34, overweight and out of shape, I see it looming up in front of me like a rock about flatten me.

Can someone who's already completed C25k please tell me it's not going to be as hard as I'm dreading, and that the previous weeks are adequate preparation? Jumping from 8-5-8 to a straight 20 seems like a big step.

nanook37

Everyone is scared of that day and to tell you the truth it really isn't that bad - good luck and you will push through.

stumblinthrulife

Well, I made it. Nearly broke my neck at 13 minutes when I drifted to the left and stepped half off the conveyer, but I made it.

timeasterday

Well, I made it. Nearly broke my neck at 13 minutes when I drifted to the left and stepped half off the conveyer, but I made it.

Congrats!! It's a big mental relief to get that one over with. The beginning of week 6 will seem easy but it soon ramps up again. I'm finishing week 8 tomorrow but I've been running 5k every time since the end of week 6. Got a race coming up next weekend.

AmyRhubarb

Woohoo - congrats! Feels awesome, doesn't it?? I was very intimidated by week 5, day 3 - I think everyone is. But I remember feeling so accomplished and thrilled when I finished it. Love the c25k program.

Well done! :bigsmile:

marathon_mama

20 minutes or 20 miles? 20 miles wll hurt, 20 minutes is nothing. Good luck!

PaytraB

Well, I made it. Nearly broke my neck at 13 minutes when I drifted to the left and stepped half off the conveyer, but I made it.

Well done! You did great! W5D3 is it's own kind of horror. Glad you didn't hurt yourself with that drift. Keep at it. It's worth all the effort. I do W8D3 tonight. If I can do it, you can, too.

morticiamom

I have asthma, have since I was 2 years old. There weren't good medicines for it when I was a child -- no preventive inhalers. We always lived at least an hour from any sort of medical help, so my parents drilled into me 'don't run'. They had to drill it in hard, because little kids in the absence of tv or computers, well, they go outside and run. 'Don't run, you'll die', was how they drilled it in. And a few times I got attacks so bad I almost did die, so I believed them.

Now, 50 years later, even though I have better medicine, a preventive inhaler, and am within 20 minutes of a hospital, the internalized message 'Don't run, you'll die', had stuck with me for all these years. Finally, I decided to kick that message to the curb, and attempted to start C25K. I couldn't even finish the first day of week 1.

So, after a few days of being discouraged, I starting working my way up to week one, by running 60 steps, then walking 90, etc. After a couple of weeks of this, I was able to complete the first workout, and I was on my way.

Then week 5, workout 3. I thought there was no way I'd be able to do it. I started, kept it really slow, the app dinged for my 20 minutes being up and I didn't want to stop. I kept running through the cool down time. I didn't die. If I can do it, almost anybody can.

stumblinthrulife

I have asthma, have since I was 2 years old. There weren't good medicines for it when I was a child -- no preventive inhalers. We always lived at least an hour from any sort of medical help, so my parents drilled into me 'don't run'. They had to drill it in hard, because little kids in the absence of tv or computers, well, they go outside and run. 'Don't run, you'll die', was how they drilled it in. And a few times I got attacks so bad I almost did die, so I believed them.

Now, 50 years later, even though I have better medicine, a preventive inhaler, and am within 20 minutes of a hospital, the internalized message 'Don't run, you'll die', had stuck with me for all these years. Finally, I decided to kick that message to the curb, and attempted to start C25K. I couldn't even finish the first day of week 1.

So, after a few days of being discouraged, I starting working my way up to week one, by running 60 steps, then walking 90, etc. After a couple of weeks of this, I was able to complete the first workout, and I was on my way.

Then week 5, workout 3. I thought there was no way I'd be able to do it. I started, kept it really slow, the app dinged for my 20 minutes being up and I didn't want to stop. I kept running through the cool down time. I didn't die. If I can do it, almost anybody can.

Awesome story, love it. Very inspirational and a little humbling.