C25K People- Do you have this problem?

you probably have poor breathing technique, try going 2 steps for inhale, 2 steps for exhale, thats what worked for me

your knees hurt because running puts a great amount of impact on your knees, this is something that will get better as you lose weight and your joints adjust to the new pressure. do you land on your heel when you run, or on your forefoot? i find running on my forefoot is much easier on my knees while running, and i can run faster too

I never noticed my breath improving as I went through the same week, but I DID find that if I moved on to the next week, I could do them and it didn't feel any harder (breathing wise). I'd recommend moving on to week 2 and see what happens.

As for knees, the only thing that helped my knee and ankle pain was to get quality shoes. They were more expensive, but I went to a local running shop and gave them my budget and they were great about helping me find something to address my issues within that budget.

For the breathing issue, slow down. Most people start running too fast. The first few weeks of C25K are meant to bring all your systems (breathing, muscles, heart rate) into alignment. One or more is usually behind the others and you've got to slow down to the pace where that system can do it fairly comfortably. You should be able to speak a short sentence without gasping while running. If you can't, slow down the pace. Speed will come over time.

For the knees....have you got good shoes? That's crucial. If you can, go to a running store & take your current running shoes with you. They'll check your stance, some stores have a treadmill to check your running gait, too. They will fit you for the proper shoes for your foot. It'll make a world of difference.

If you're out of breath, then you're probably running too fast for your current cardiovascular capacity; your muscles are adapting to the exercise faster than your heart, lungs, and arteries. Try slowing down the running parts.

The knee pain is troubling. Does it start an hour after you stop running (which is what you imply), does it start right after you stop running and continue for an hour, or does it start during the run and continue for an hour?

And is it really in the knees, or is it in your shins, from just below the knee to the ankle? If it's the latter, then it's probably shin splints, which can be caused by running too fast or by old, worn shoes that have lost a good amount of their cushion.

Mild pain that starts after a run is usually not a problem, but serious pain is. Check out Dr. Joe Ellis's book "Running Injury-Free" for a good overview of the causes of running pain and when you should see a doctor.

1 - slow down...you are running faster than your current level of cardiovascular fitness allows for.

2 - could be numerous things from something as benign as needing better running shoes and/or better form to having a real issue that needs medical attention...hard to say. If you haven't been fitted for a proper pair of running shoes (at a running store where they analyze your gait, etc) then I'd start there.

I'd also recommend ditching the static stretching before the run and do dynamic stretching...save the static stretching for afterwards.

Do you have shoes that have been recommended and fitted at a running store?

This. If I don't purchase over pronation shoes, my knees will hurt after any descent distance of running or walking. Every physical movement is affected by how your feet impact the ground. If they are hitting wrong, the rest of your body is going to let you know.

The breathing will get better as your aerobic fitness improves. Keep your pace nice and slow, just barely faster than a walk if need be. Keep at it and good luck!

The knee pain could also be caused by your stride. Overstriding (which results in severe heel striking) can lead to both shin splints and knee pain. Maintaining a higher stride rate (around 180 steps per minute) and striking mid-foot can greatly reduce the force on your knees. I had shin splints due to overstriding, but the shin splints disappeared after I corrected my form and cadence.

I have a "bad" knee and was told to ice it after running or high impact.

Heat actually will do the reverse of what you want it to do unless you ice it well afterwards. It does bring blood flow into the area which will make it feel better short-term but with that blood comes fluid AKA swelling and unless you ice it to make that fluid go away it will cause more stiffness and pain.

I definitely agree with the people who said to focus on your breathing. Like you, I've never run before doing C25K and the first couple of weeks my breathing and heart rate were crazy, so much so that I had to take breaks to breathe even on the first and second week! I went jogging (or "jalking" as I like to call it) with my husband once, and he told me what his dad taught him: you have to slow down your breathing. (There's no way I could have slowed down my pace and still called it running, so "slow down" would not have worked as advice for me either.) I'll tell you honestly, the first time I tried to do a 3-minute jog on the treadmill (about 2 weeks ago), I had to stop the treadmill 2 minutes in and go sit down because I couldn't breathe and my heart was pounding. It was embarrassing. Thank goodness I was at home. Now when I jog, I focus on inhaling all the way and exhaling all the way, and I breathe slowly. I don't let myself start panting. It's difficult and takes concentration, but it made a WORLD of difference. Today I jogged for seven minutes solid (on the treadmill; my longest continuous jog outdoors is just a little over half of that time) and my breathing/heartbeat were never a problem. My legs were just too weak to keep going. My husband suggested inhaling for 2 steps and exhaling for 2 steps, but since I usually listen to music when I run, the conflicting beats of the music and my feet get all jumbled up, so I just focus on deep breaths in, and exhaling all the air before inhaling again. Try focusing on your breathing, hope that helps!