C25K Question

I quit smoking in April after 25 years of a pack a day habit, was about 80 pounds overweight and in terrible shape. I started walking every day, added some stairs and the weight started coming off. After a couple months of walking I decided I wanted to be a runner again so I started the C25K program. I was on day 2 when I felt very intense pain in my knees. It turns out I had stress fractures in both shins. The doc made me take two months off running but said I could bike all I wanted. I biked my *kitten* off, literally. After 8 weeks, 600 miles, and another 25 lbs lost I went back to walking every day and started to mix in some short jogs. After just 2 weeks I was able to jog 5 miles in 60 minutes. I felt very slow and awkward but kept at it running about 5 times per week. Now I can do that same 5 miles in 42 minutes and I am training to do my first half marathon in about 2 weeks.

So to answer your questions:
Was it like this your first time? It actually hurt like hell and I couldn't do it.
How long did it take you before you could finally do the first day completely?
I don't know, I never went back to it. I just started running and let my body tell me when to start and stop.

The stress fractures were likely a result of my being overweight, having crappy running shoes, and smoking for decades. Apparently smoking is bad for you. Who knew?

My advice to you would be to keep at running. You will amaze yourself. Don't let some program dictate how far you should be in your progress. Repeat whatever days you need to or get rid of it and just run til your body tells you to stop. Don't run every day but do mix in some cross training like swimming and biking. Both of those are hard at first too but they will help you be a better runner.

Set some goals. Mine was to run a 5k by fall.

Don't give up. The sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach your goals is awesome.

I do C25K but I don't follow the program like you are sposed to. I skip around a lot and usually do it more than once a day. I go between week 1 and week 3. Right now I'm stuck on week 3, I can't get past that 3 minute jog. Yesterday I did week 1 then week 3 right after and then later that night I did week 2.

That's brilliant, you're a runner now! Next time, do W1D1 again, but this time try to do four reps before you give up, and so on until you get to the full workout. It will only take a couple of weeks at the most, I guess, and then you're back on plan. You might also be running too fast, I think; lots of people do when they start.

I think W1D1 can be a bit hard for people who've got a lot of weight to lose. I'm using a different system (Ease Into 5K) because I like the iPhone app; it's roughly the same overall but I think the start is a tad easier.

Whatever your running speed was, lower it. I am a recent C25K graduate and my, ahem, 'running' speed was only 5mph. So I am still doing week 9, but I am increasing my speed by a whopping .1 mph PER WEEK and I have increased my incline to a whopping 1 degree
My goal is to successfully run my 5k at 6mph at a 1 degree incline.
I repeated many, many weeks - I did not move onto the next week until I was very comfortable with the current week.
So just slow down. Join the C25k group here on MFP - they're a terrific group and they have LOADS of great advice.
And give yourself a great big pat on the back!

What she said. I'm a C25K graduate (this week), and while it wasn't easy, I was able to follow the program. The key for me was the C25K literature that said to run slower than you think you should. I did. If you kill yourself the chances are good that you won't stick with the program. My "run" portion was really a "shuffle" for several weeks. Eventually you'll build your leg strength and lung capacity and be able to do a slow jog. Disclaimer: I had to repeat week 5 workout 1 three times since I missed about a week of the program due to scheduling issues, and needed to re-build my fitness.