Couch to 5K

Options
GrnEyz80
GrnEyz80 Posts: 121
in Fitness and Exercise
Just about killed me. I am only on day 1 and I am thinking that there is no way I'm going to make it!! I had to pause it twice and do a 5 minute walk to get my HR below 170 and so I wouldn't vomit! It took me 40 minutes to finish day 1 ... and it was only 1.28 miles, HALF of what I'm supposed to build up to.

Has anyone done this program and successful gone from never running at all to running 5K without vomiting, passing-out or dying!? :sick: :embarassed: :grumble:
«1

Replies

  • Bloomsday
    Bloomsday Posts: 66 Member
    Options
    My guess is that you went too fast for your first time out.

    The point is that it GRADUALLY builds you up to running, and the important thing is to do the intervals to build your stamina and strengthen muscles/tendons so that you can handle longer distances.

    It's 2 months to get to 3 miles. If you're doing half that on Day 1, I suggest dialing it back a lot.

    Go for time, not distance at this point.

    Having said all of this, it is also fine to walk when you need to and repeat days/weeks until you're comfortable moving on.
  • Bloomsday
    Bloomsday Posts: 66 Member
    Options
    Forgot to say: you'll be surprised, too, that if you keep at it that it will seem like all of a sudden it will get easier at some points. There is a lot going on when you first start -- muscles, tendons, circulations, and so on. The program slowly builds you up to being a runner.

    Hope this helps! Good luck!
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    Options
    What the above person said. You are most likely going too fast. Slow down! When it is time to run does not mean you need to sprint like a hoard of zombies are chasing you. Speed can come later. For now jog slow and focus on your breathing so you don't feel like you are dying. And you can do it!
  • GrnEyz80
    GrnEyz80 Posts: 121
    Options
    No lol I did NOT go too fast...any slower and I would have been stopped. I'm just THAT out of shape! lol
  • blessedmomof3girls
    blessedmomof3girls Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    I'm on w3d1 today, and I'm nervous and excited. To be honest, on w1d1 I really didn't know how for sure I was going to make it, but by w1d3 I really did feel like I was getting somewhere. Like I said, I'm on w3d1 now, and I have to go 3 min, 3 min, 90 sec, 90 and I'm really getting more into shape. It really does work, just take it slow. I don't even worry about how fast I'm going, if for some reason I start getting winded through my time, I just slow down so slow that if I went any slower I would be fast walking. You can do it! Just keep on at it!
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    Options
    No lol I did NOT go too fast...any slower and I would have been stopped. I'm just THAT out of shape! lol

    Haha. I feel for you. When I started my brisk walk was fast than my run. I promise it gets easier. Don't be scared to repeat weeks, but also try the next week first. You might surprise yourself with what you are capable of.
  • GrnEyz80
    GrnEyz80 Posts: 121
    Options
    I'm on w3d1 today, and I'm nervous and excited. To be honest, on w1d1 I really didn't know how for sure I was going to make it, but by w1d3 I really did feel like I was getting somewhere. Like I said, I'm on w3d1 now, and I have to go 3 min, 3 min, 90 sec, 90 and I'm really getting more into shape. It really does work, just take it slow. I don't even worry about how fast I'm going, if for some reason I start getting winded through my time, I just slow down so slow that if I went any slower I would be fast walking. You can do it! Just keep on at it!

    Whew that makes me feel a little better. I wouldn't be surpirsed if I ended up doing every week twice before moving on. I might surprise myself though. All I know is I pray it gets better because today SUCKED! :noway: :laugh:
  • Bloomsday
    Bloomsday Posts: 66 Member
    Options
    No lol I did NOT go too fast...any slower and I would have been stopped. I'm just THAT out of shape! lol

    Haha. I feel for you. When I started my brisk walk was fast than my run. I promise it gets easier. Don't be scared to repeat weeks, but also try the next week first. You might surprise yourself with what you are capable of.

    Ha, yes ... I think I could also walk faster than my run when I first started ... I can tell you it does get easier!

    There are some other things that could make it difficult, too. I need to stretch before or my muscles feel like cement. Others will tell you it's best to stretch afterwards, but I think you have to find what works for you. If you aren't hydrated that could be it, too. Plus, depending on where you are, it could be terribly hot. I have been running in the AM because after noon it's awful and I feel sick running in the heat humidity.
  • juiletflt
    juiletflt Posts: 159
    Options
    It is possible! I am on week 7 now! This was after starting and stopping several times when I tried to go too fast.

    I've read several places that you should be going slow enough that you can keep a conversation going. Also that a beginner's stride should look more like a shuffle, barely lifting your feel of the ground enough so you don't trip on rocks, etc. This has worked wonders for me. AND yes, for a while my walk was actually faster than my run.

    Also, I promise it gets easier. Once I got past week 4 I was good.
  • hellokatee
    hellokatee Posts: 211 Member
    Options
    Hi! I'm on Week 8, Day 2 of Couch to 5k right now. It does get better! I hadn't run in a long while before I started the program and it was TOUGH, seriously. I am not lying to you when I say it gets easier as you go. My best advice is to not push yourself too hard at the beginning. I thought it would be a good idea to run every day instead of three days a week when I started... I got shin splints, messed up my heel, and had to take a four day break and ice like a crazy person before I could get back to it. Stick with it, you will slowly build up your stamina and endurance. I also recommend reading up on the correct way to breath, stride, and carry yourself during a run. All of those can effect your efficiency, your heart rate while running, and your chances of injury. I have done a lot of reading and seen a lot of improvement in myself! Good luck! :smile:
  • kellzi89
    kellzi89 Posts: 65 Member
    Options
    I am at the end of week 5 at the moment and just like you I thought I was going to die that first week! But it does get easier! Just keep at it, go at a speed that allows you to have a conversation with someone. I didn't do any running scarcely exercised before I started C25K. I never thought I would get to week 5 but you do!

    Something that also helped me was breaking the runs into 30 second intervals in my head. If I looked at like you have 3mins left to run I would start to panic and think I wasn't going to make it, but when I look at and go 30 more secs it was easier
  • daniellemm1
    daniellemm1 Posts: 465 Member
    Options
    I started in April and finished in June. I too thought that I was going to die but I stuck with it and successfully completed it in the 8 weeks. By successfully I mean I was able to run for 30 minutes straight. It has taken me two more months to finally run the full 5K and it takes me 45 minutes to do so. Slow down, get good shoes and stick with it. Each week I thought that I would not be able to proceed to the next week but I did it. I surprised myself and even now I am really excited that I am a runner!!! Stick with it and you will be happy that you did. Add some friends who are going through it so you can cheer each other on and support each other when you struggle. Best of luck to you!!!!
  • jesseronning
    jesseronning Posts: 12
    Options
    Week 5, Day 3 (tomorrow) here and I actually never thought I would say this but I look forward to my run days. I often drive by people running and I think to myself, "LUCKY." Never thought I would say that in my life. It has done wonders for me cardio-wise and I am not just a guy who only lifts anymore. Tomorrow is my first time I run for 20 minutes. I know if I can make this without stopping I can do the 5k eventually. My goal is to get to between 3-5 miles three times a week and run my first 5k this late October and again in late November with a 5k time under 30 minutes. Right now during my interval training of the coach to 5k I am doing between 2.75 and 2.85 miles in 31 minutes so while I am getting there I still have a long way to go.

    Also, until I started listening to my body I had an assortment of pains. Just remember to take it slow, listen to your body, and have fun. Yes I said it... HAVE FUN! My app plugs in my favorite work out songs as I run and it really is a blast!
  • paulabo
    paulabo Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    I did Couch to 5k back in 2010....and thought it was going to kill me.....I was a 45 year old, fat, unfit smoker and very very slow. I signed up for a 4km fun run that coincided with the end of the program and got everyone I know to sponser me.......now I had to do it!!! I ended up raising quite a bit of mioney for breast cancer research and vowed to run the whole 4km no matter how long it took me.....and I did (slowly) :)
    I quit the ciggies and also discovered that I love to run - the weight loss that came with it was a bonus....
    Last Sunday I ran a Half Marathon in just under 2 hours :)
    Just keep at it and you will get there <3
  • ruth3698
    ruth3698 Posts: 305 Member
    Options
    I am on week three.I was dying when I first started out,I had to repeat week one and week two several times.I hurt my knees the second week and had to take a break.It does get easier! I find having a good playlist helped to take my mind off what I was doing.I took a week off because I got horribly sick with the flu so hopefully I won't have to start all over.
  • CosmicBella
    CosmicBella Posts: 195 Member
    Options
    I absolutely LOVE C25K !!! When I first started, I couldn't even run to the end of my own driveway and now I'm running 4-5 miles a day. Keep with it and remember to take a day off in between workouts. You'll be amazed at what your body can do! :flowerforyou:
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,149 Member
    Options
    I just finished the program and I was never a runner of any kind. Sounds like you went too fast, running 30 mins now, I'm just reaching 2 miles, which is slow, but I can do it without stopping/praying for death. I read on one of these forums "if you think you can go slower than you are, you're going too fast."
  • buffcleb
    buffcleb Posts: 150 Member
    Options
    I started running last September... I did not use couch to 5k but basically did the same thing... Like you running was less then fun for me... I started running about 100 yards and walking 100 yards... it took me three months to work up to 1 mile... since then I have extended my distance to 10 miles and lowered my mile time to 7:30... on long runs I tend to be around 8:30 time...

    My starting point was not having ran since high school 18 years ago... when I started I was around 280 pounds... at around 240-250ish I hit a mile...

    my advice is to start small... 5k seems like a huge number... look at the shorter goals... 1k, 1m, etc... 5k will come...
  • HeartbeccaCA
    HeartbeccaCA Posts: 17 Member
    Options
    Whatever this program says, ti doesn't matter - you are doing TOO MUCH. Your heart rate should NEVER be 170!! Your heart has no time to fill and therefore pumps ineffeciently and can in NO WAY meet the oxygen demands of your body.
    You MUST start with something less demanding and do not rush getting to where you want to be. (Maybe try just walking?) Your body will tell you of what you are capable. Tune in and listen. Wear a heart rate monitor. It is a huge mistake to ignore this. Demanding more of your body than you are capable will slow down your results. Please take care of yourself! Easy does it. :-)
  • berlynn_j
    berlynn_j Posts: 299 Member
    Options
    I started Couch to 5k (and I just printed a program from the net, there are TONS of them out there) and on the first day I had to walk 5 minutes, jog for 2, then walk 5. It was all about building up stamina and running for longer periods of time. I did have to repeat days and weeks because I didn't want to move on until I was ready.

    That being said, it DOES work. Don't give up. It will get tough and you will want to quit. But you will also hit a point where it gets easier and you realize your body is adjusting and you are getting into shape.

    9 months after I started couch to 5k I ran a half marathon. All running, no walking. When I started I weighed 211 pounds and could barely walk up stairs without huffing and puffing. You can do it!!!!!!

Categories