I'm about a week behind you and this is maybe my fourth or fifth time starting.

I really felt a sense of accomplishment when I passed the spot I always quit before. Last night I ran W4D2 with my fit, athletic daughter. She was winded on the cool down and I wasn't after about 30 seconds, that really brought it home to me how much I've done for my fitness level.

When did you feel a sense of accomplishment? I felt it during the 3 and 5-minute runs a little, but the big moment for me was definitely W5D3 during the 20-minute run.

Me too! I just finished W5D3 again (this is my second time of getting this far), and I felt so good about making it through without stopping! I can hardly believe that I was able to jog for 20 minutes, I certainly would not have been able to do it a few weeks ago.

I started feeling a sense of accomplishment after my first 30 second run and it hasn't quit yet.

Every single time.

^^THIS!!

:happy:

W5D3 was my big sense of accomplishment. That was the day when I truly realized, "Not only CAN I do this, I AM doing this". It was a big time confidence booster. I laughed out loud on the street when I completed it. I looked around, wanting to share it with someone, but alas, I was alone at 8:30 am on a Saturday. So instead I just giggled and had a big grin on my face, imagining a marching band coming down the street to announce my achievement. I seriously did that. After I ran for 20 minutes straight, I realized I was quite capable of doing anything else. In fact, that day over shadowed the day I completed C25K.

My last day of C25K I didn't have the sense of celebration I had on W5D3. It was more of a, "OK, I did that. Now let's see how much further I can go". It was a nod, a recognition of my accomplishment, but now I was ready to get in there and start taking this seriously, and consider myself as an athlete in training.

W5D3 seriously changed my life. It told me that I had the ability and discipline to do this, and to make a complete lifestyle overhaul. This isn't about losing weight anymore, it's about being active and healthy for the rest of my days.

I love this!!!

Edit: No! Seriously!!! This is so full of awesome, it's going to make me smile all day!

W5D3 was HUGE but every single time I finish a run I want to throw my arms up like I'm crossing a finish line!:happy:

This morning I ran for almost 33 minutes but I haven't finished the whole 3.1 miles yet...hopefully this week:blushing: I think my race will be my biggest accomplishment, I ran in my early 20's and always said I would do a 5k but was too scared. Life got crazy and it took me over 10 years to get back to running. C25k gave me the tools to push myself and start running again..I'm now in my late 30's and WILL do my first 5k on Sept 28th

Apropos:

"When the task is hard and the progress is slow, you celebrate the small things. When the task is nearly impossible and the progress is glacial, there are no small things and you celebrate all the time--if you want to keep going, you high-five anything and everything that you can remotely trace back to your efforts."

http://www.runnersworld.com/beginners/small-miracles?page=1

BTW - the article also answers the question of "does this get easier?"

I started feeling a sense of accomplishment after my first 30 second run and it hasn't quit yet.

Me too. Every single time I feel like I accomplished something and I feel POWERFUL!! I'm not sure what it is, maybe the fact that I didn't really think I could do it. I am so proud to be a runner

It seems like I am continually feeling a sense of accomplishment every time I make it through another day in this program. I have been overweight for as long as I can remember, but 8 years ago I picked up running and began to feel phenomenal. I wasn't skinny by any means, but I felt good about myself for the first time in my life. Sadly, that period only lasted about a year and a half before life got in my way, and I let go of running. Flash forward to this year, I joined myfitnesspal and heard about the C25K program. The minute I gave it a try, I was terrified. I wanted to start running again and start feeling good about myself, but I knew from past attempts to get back into running that I did not have the skills that I used to anymore. The first work out gave me a wonderful sense of accomplishment because, not only did I finish, but I wasn't even that tired! Then came week 2, and I started to feel discouraged, but kept pushing through. After each run, I realized that I was capable of running -- even if it was only in increments that would make a pro runner laugh. Today, I just completed week 6 day 3 and I can not begin to tell you the accomplishment I feel. 6 weeks ago the idea of running for a minute straight was terrifying, but when I saw the 22 minute time today I didn't even blink! I had to take a few days off a week ago, and I seriously missed the runs. I think getting into this phase of the program is helping me to feel more accomplished than I have in any other sense since that time in my life 8 years ago. I am so excited to see where else I can go, and I really hope everyone here continues to feel accomplishment every day of their fitness journey!

I did the W5D3 run yesterday. I run through my neighborhood, and get onto the bike path on the main road towards the end of my run. Yesterday, as I was running through the neighborhood, running at all the points I'm usually walking, my excitement built.

As I finished the 20 minutes of running, and the coach lady said, congratulations, you've just run 20 minutes without stopping, you can call yourself a runner now, I actually skipped and hopped and whooped it up, on the bike trail, on the main road of my town, as the roads were full of parents taking their kids to school. A couple people actually honked at me, I'm not sure if they were sharing in my celebration or they thought I was seizing. I honestly didn't care, I was so extremely proud of myself for not quitting before this point.

I just teared up a little recalling and typing this up, I'd say this was definitely a huge moment on my path to my ultimate life.

Love this story! Congratulations on conquering W5D3 and sharing this story.