C25K questions

I just finished week three. When I was on the treadmill I started by walking at 3 and running at 5 but i was really struggling. It took me 12 (!) tries to complete W1D1 - the first time I could only do three running intervals. I kept working at it, doing every other running interval and walking every other one a few times and slowly built up to 5 running intervals and then 6 and then finally 8. After I completed week one I found a thread in the C25K Group on here about slowing down and what speed people who were starting out were using and I realized that I needed to slow down. I slowed to 2.7 walk and 4.5 run for week two and then gave up the treadmill completely for week three so I can set my own pace as needed.

I felt (and still feel) like my stride is short - I'm only an inch taller than you plus a few lbs heavier - but I try to keep concentrate on keeping my form good and hope that longer strides will come later. Don't worry too much about what others in your gym are running - I was by far the slowest on the treadmill in my gym at 5mph so was surprised to hear that 5 was much faster than many other beginning runners were doing. Speed comes after endurance.

Good luck to you!

Try running outside. It's better.

I didn't start this program until I'd been exercising regularly for over a year. I could easily go an hour on an elliptical and felt I had pretty good stamina. That being said, running is a whole other beast. I was around 200 lbs when I started and found running outside much easier than mashing treadmill buttons every 30-90 seconds. Try running it outside at your own pace. If you find you can run any slower, you are running TOO FAST. You want to go it at a light jog at first. Focus on the duration of your running, not your speed. When it finally came time to run for over 30minutes, I found I couldn't make it the whole duration running at 5 mph on a treadmill, But when I lowered it to 4.7 mph, I could easily do it and found myself running my first 5k in 42 minutes on the treadmill.

To reiterate... If you are just starting out, take it slow, aim for a light jog, speed will come with practice. It is duration you want to focus on at this point.

I started C25K again, W1D1, and I can't make it past 3 intervals. I tried two weeks ago and that's as far as I made it, so I started walking on a treadmill. I have worked up to 30 mins @ about 3.8 mph, walking over 2 miles in that time. I figured that I needed to work on stamina and endurance before trying C25K again.

Well, I failed at it once again. Maybe I am trying the run part to fast (4.5 mph). To all you beginning C25Ker's, when on a treadmill, what is your "brisk walk" speed and what is your running speed?

BTW, I am a 50yo, 220lb woman. Also, does your stride get longer as you get better at running? My stride (I'm 5'4") seems so short compared to some of the other runners who use the treadmill.

Thanks, Callie

You just have to keep pushing, I know that the first time I did it I couldn't run past the 1st two intervals. I can now run all the intervals even though it seems slow (4.7-5 mph) (Well for the first week, I kind of cheated and did the first week about 4 times, I'm starting week two next week, lol)

I started at 280 and I'm currently at 268, 26 years old.

This is excellent!!

I tried again tonight and was able to complete all of W1D1. I walked at 3.0mph and jogged at 3.5-3.6mph.

I'm so glad I didn't get frustrated and give up yesterday. But then, I'm not a quitter. Just had to re-evaluate my plan of action.

Keep going! It will get easier and easier as you go. Don't worry about speed for now, just go for completing it. The first time you complete the circuits entirely, you're going to feel amazing. Nothing tops it.

I also get what you're saying about stride, I feel like mine is short, but I'm short (5'3") so I guess it's proportional to me. I do try to focus on taking larger steps. For me, my speeds are walking: 3.5 and running: 5.5. But you'll get faster with time!