New runners

i did the women's health magazine 6 week running program for beginners and thats the ONLY way I learned to run for 30 minutes non-stop. I too was very limited with my running before I did the program. Since I could run better than what the program has u start out at, I started with like week 3 but still took the whole 6 weeks to complete it. You can google Womens Health Mag 6 week running program for beginners. Good luck!

Oh at least I'm not the only one ! I'm in the same position, literally started a few days ago and after 5mins I'm out...feel free to add me as a friend and help each other

YAY! I started running in Feb '11!
I love it! Hope you do too! Feel free to friend me...

If you're going to do C25, pick it up around midway, as you've already made quite a bit of progress. Similarly with most beginners' programmes (and there are lots of them out there).

Or just carry on as you are. If you're running 17 straight minutes now, try maybe 10 minutes, walk for 2, run for 10, and then start adding a minute to each of those 10 minute runs. After a little while, once you've added a few minutes on either side of the walk interval, try stitching the run together. You really should be running 5k in a month or so, tops, with the base you've already built.

Once you've got to a place where you're running 5k, 3x per week, choose one day to be your 'long run' and start adding extra time on to that.

Don't add too much mileage too fast. 10% per week isn't a magic number, but is what you can roughly add in a week without upping your risk of injury too much.

Best of luck.

These are all great tips!

I consider myself to be a 'runner' now, but I started C25K barely being able to run two minutes without feeling like I wanted to die. It sounds like you're already further along than I was, so, as mentioned above, the first few weeks might be more of a hindrance to you, but the fifth week, where you run for 20 continuous minutes on the third day, would probably be a good starting point.

No matter how you do it, just remember not to get disheartened if you can't do as well as you'd hope straight away. You've already come so far and with perseverance you WILL get there and probably even further. Plus, no matter how far or how fast you're going, you're still running laps around everyone on the couch

Hi charelg (and everyone else!),

Congrats on improving your running abilities so far! I have also been trying to improve as a runner, and what has worked for me is adding high-intensity intervals. So when I feel tired and want to stop running, I actually sprint for as long as I can instead. For example, when I started, I would only be able to run for 3ish minutes (at a moderate speed, about 5.5 or 6 MPH) before I would get tired. Instead of returning to a walk (3MPH), I would sprint (say, 7 or 8 MPH) for as long as possible. In the beginning, I'll be honest, "as long as possible" was about 5-10 seconds. Anyway, once I've completed my sprint, I'll walk for a minute or two to bring my heart rate down, and then return to my moderate running speed. After doing a sprint, the running speed seems COMFORTABLE! I repeat this loop (jog-sprint-walk) as many times as I can or want to during a workout.

For each workout, I'll focus on changing one part of the jog-sprint-walk loop to improve my speed or endurance. So one day I may decide to run for longer/faster, or sprint for longer/faster, or just walk for shorter periods. The best days are the ones in which I do several things (e.g., run longer and sprint faster). It's not a very scientific plan, but it enables me to set goals and push myself. I have improved A LOT as a runner in a relatively short time (although other factors like additional weight training and cardio activities, plus a clean diet, have undoubtedly helped as well). Anyway, if this sounds like something you would like to do and be able to do, give it a try. Best of luck to you!

Leah

P.S. I also do a very slow, simple, relaxing yoga program after each run. It's about 15-20 minutes of deep breathing and stretching that really brings my heart rate down after a tough run and keeps me from feeling sore the next day. Hope this helps.

I just started running last week. Im doing a 3week program to a 30 minute running habit. It starts off with 1minute of running and a minute of walking you do this ten times, thats just to start. Im really out of shape cause its harder than i thought it would be but im sticking with it. good luck!

The C25K plan is great. It's simple to follow and I've downloaded an app onto my phone that tells you when to walk, when to run and provides updates when you reach certain time points in the session. By following a plan you can see the progress you are making quite quickly.

I managed to run a 10K last year having started out on c25k so it can really work.

After the 5k plan there are others such as bridge to 10K to keep progressing.