Any c25k newbies?

How do you keep track of the time or distance?

I will be starting Week 5 today. I am very much enjoying it (I never thought I would say that...) and I have a question.

I have heard it recommended that the running intervals should be done at conversational pace. Why is that? My natural tendency is to go a bit faster to the extent that I can say a few words if I had to but my breathing is heavy. I manage to recover sufficiently within walking sections to do the other intervals and in my off days I can recover so I am fresh for the next workout.

Will I benefit from deliberately slowing down?

Ok, so finished up Day 1 on my lunch break.. Managed to cover 1.25 miles in the 30 minutes. Hoping to increase that a little bit next week. Had some pain in my shins, but nothing major and I don't think I overdid it. But, I feel sorry for the poor treadmill, I think it got more of a workout than me. haha.. I sweated a lot more than I thought I would. But, glad that Day 1 is done and I'm not discouraged about carrying on.

I don't have a smartphone but I do have a gps. I am not sure how that would work.

WOW! today i started week 2 day 1, and didnt realise how much different jogging 90seconds would be to jogging 60 seconds.

i managed to do the first 4 runs but then had to give up, breathing was all out of wack like it was on week 1 day 1. i was pretty gutted though realise i only had 2 more runs to do before the cool down walk

so will be redoing W2D1, am thinking i should start with this rather than doing my usual warm up on the bike like i dad today.

Try going slower, you should be able to hold a conversation with someone. You can always go slower. There should be no huffing and puffing on C25k. Speed is an ego thing, I know, I got injured the first time I tried by running and huffing and puffing. 2nd time out, lesson learnt, got to the end without repeating a single day. Good luck on your journey, be that tortoise.

i do go slow, my jog is litterally only just a step up from a speed walk, I was jogging at same speed as i was last week.
Like I said in PP i sang my way through week1 day3. so had no problem with breathing that day lol.

i dont know if its because id not been to the gym since friday morning (Sunday would have been my usual next day but i was out with family until late so went today instead)
or wether the extra 30seconds of jogging just took me by suprise, i fully intend to smash it tomorrow. (like with w1d1 i redid and completed second time)

I am surprised it had that much of an impact. I very much doubt it was because you missed Sunday, if only the body knew to that accuracy. It may have more to do with being out late, hydration etc. Just see how you go next time out. I would be tempted to wait another day and go for it on Wednesday but that may not fit your schedule.

Fantastic news, don't worry about the distance, just do the time. This is about prepping your body to take the stresses of running. Just make sure you are not going too fast, I found it really difficult to get the pace on the treadmill right for me. As the session went on I found I wanted to slow it down but my ego got in the way. I found it easier outside when there is no belt continuously moving, however I recognise in your situation that may not be that easy. If your shins continue to hurt you may need to just do a few weeks of walking first. It may not be what you want to hear, but you need to get your body used to the stress. It will get stronger during the rest days. A few extra weeks at the start will be lost when you get into your running. Slow and easy, the tortoise wins this race every time.

Good luck on your journey

Hey Thanks! Appreiciate the info. I finished W1D2 today and found that it was a lot easier if I didn't watch the timer. So I just started listening to the music and watching the calories burned go up. I did increase my speeds slightly, not much though. Like you mention finding a good pace is difficult. But I think I found it this time. I get what you're saying about the distance as well, it's just nice to see some kind of improvement/progress. Went 1.37 miles today in the same time. I know it's only been two days, but I'm optimistic yet scared about week 2. I have a feeling I'll be repeating it at least once. haha..

This thread has been pretty quiet? Where are all our runners??

Did my first official 5k this past weekend in Ottawa at the Canada Army Run! What a great event! It was a very proud moment for me as I ran the entire thing. I have done many 5k runs but was always interval running so this one was my big goal after completing the C25K program. I will admit that the last km was a struggle, I had to keep reminding myself that I had worked very hard for this moment so I kept those legs moving and I did it!! I ran from the start line and didn't stop until I crossed the finish line. Finished with a time of 36:25. So exhilarating!!! I smiled on the inside as I passed all the people walking knowing that once that was me and also feeling proud that they were on the same journey that I had just recently taken.

You can do it! Don't give up, stay with the program, it is your friend! When I began I couldn't run 30 seconds without being out of breath and feeling like death LOL