Beginning runner using C25k

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  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Program: C25k Week 7 Day 2
    Date: 11/21/2014
    Start time: 6:49 pm

    Goals:
      • Complete run portions of program
      • Increase my pace
      • Take advantage of terrain

    Distance: 3.1 miles
    Duration: 48:40 (2nd out of the 20 I have done)
    Ave Pace: 15:42
    Change from last attempt: -04:30
    Change from W1D1 (Oct 7, 58:58): -10:18
    Change from fastest time (W2D3, Oct 18: 48:28): +00:12

    This day was one 25-minute jog.

    I am still not a cold weather runner. I am trying to go out as soon as I get home from work. When I went out this day it was 68 degrees, by the time I was done it was 57 degrees. This was a lot better than last time but at the end when you are dripping sweat, 57 degrees is cold, especially with the wind blowing.

    I ran for the entire 25 minutes and increased my pace by 4:30 over W7D1, so pretty good. I feel like I have the endurance to ‘jog’ at my miserably slow pace of about 17 min/mile for 30-40 minutes or so now. What I am lacking is a sustained faster pace. So what I tried on this day was alternate 1 minute of faster pace (about 12-14 min/mile) with 90 seconds of my snail pace. It was like W1D1, but instead of run/walk, I did fast pace/slow pace jog.

    I use MapMyFitness to track my runs and while I know it is not the most accurate measure of what I am doing, it is what I have. When I am running I don’t look at what my phone says my pace is; I only look at the splits after I am done. So for instance I really didn’t know what my ‘faster’ or ‘slower’ paces were until I started to write this and looked at the splits.
    • 1 mile split
        [o] Slowest
           [•] 16:42
        [o] Fastest
           [•] 15:18
    • ½ mile split
        [o] Slowest
           [•] 17:03
        [o] Fastest
           [•] 14:32
    • 1/10th mile split
        [o] Slowest
           [•] 19:44 (at the 2.4 mile mark going uphill… into the wind… I was tired, cold, and stiff... and those are my excuses :smiley: )
        [o] Fastest
           [•] 11:29 (at the .3 mark, also had 11:37 at the 3.1 mark, hustling for the finish line

    I am going to try this alternate method for a bit and see if I can increase my pace steadily. Will let you know how it goes.

    Goal Achievement:

    • Complete run portions of program
       o Completed all the run portions. I did really well on this. Although my runs are sloooow, they are runs. On each step one of my feet leave the ground, so technically running no matter how slow. :smile: The reason I said I did well is that over the 48:40 it took me to go 3.1 miles I ‘ran’ for about 45 minutes of it. I do a warm-up before I start the C25k program. Then I start the program and fast forward a bit on the warm up, only use 2 minutes of it. During those two minutes I walk briskly and get the music and GPS set-up and going. Then Between when the C25k program ended and when I keyed it up again, I walked for about a minute. I almost wished I hadn’t walked for that minute. At the end I was loose and good to go, but after that minute walk I felt stiff again.

    • Increase my pace
       o I am only 12 seconds off my fastest run, so ok here. I am trying to find a way to slowly increase my pace and what I described above did well for me. I will continue to do this and hopefully on W7D3 I will beat my fastest time.

    • Take advantage of terrain
       o Still a challenge on this, I find my body naturally wants to fight the momentum when I go downhill and I have to pay attention to this. I hope I can reprogram myself so that I let gravity help me without having to think about it. But I feel I have months ahead of me on this one.
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
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    Good job! I'm off to run W7D3 today.
  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
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    loratliff wrote: »
    Good job! I'm off to run W7D3 today.

    Awesome! How are you doing on the program? I am always curious to hear other's stories.
  • ghouliejulie85
    ghouliejulie85 Posts: 44 Member
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    I started the program on October 30th and did about 3 days a week. I had to reinstall the app because it was only showing up week 2 day 1 and after that to run the 5k. Last week I got sick and haven't ran. I plan to get back into it and starting over from week 1 and day 1 when I feel better
  • IndigoSue13
    IndigoSue13 Posts: 99 Member
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    Great job! You are doing so well. I had to drop back to Week 3 Day 3 on Friday (I had reached Week 4 day 1 previously). I was sick for a week and didn't go to the gym. I had hoped I could pick right back up on Week 4, but it wasn't to be.

    But it's o.k. I've decided even if it takes me 6 months, I'm going to get through it!

    Good on you for keeping up with it AND improving your time while you are at it! Your progress is inspiring. :)
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
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    Awesome wulfax. You know what you are now don't you? You're a runner!!

  • LazyButHealthy
    LazyButHealthy Posts: 257 Member
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    25 mins Wulfax? That's amazing!! Serious kudos.

    I'm just back from W3D2, and in comparison to yesterday it was a lot tougher.

    I was a bit more tired, I think, and it was raining pretty heavily (and cold) and it was just a bit miserable.

    HOWEVER, I'm still happy as I did it. I didn't come up with the excuses I had in the past re the weather, and though the 3 min intervals were harder than yesterday I still fully completed them, albeit at a snail's pace.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    wulfax wrote: »
    I ran for the entire 25 minutes and increased my pace by 4:30 over W7D1, so pretty good. I feel like I have the endurance to ‘jog’ at my miserably slow pace of about 17 min/mile for 30-40 minutes or so now. What I am lacking is a sustained faster pace. So what I tried on this day was alternate 1 minute of faster pace (about 12-14 min/mile) with 90 seconds of my snail pace. It was like W1D1, but instead of run/walk, I did fast pace/slow pace jog.

    Intervals like that are a good way to improve your speed. You can also do high-intensity intervals, like Tabata intervals: run as fast as you can for 20 seconds, jog for 10 seconds, and repeat 6-8 times. Do them in the middle of a run, after you've warmed up. I'd recommend doing them just once a week, though, since they can be stressful.

    Running longer distances will also increase your speed at shorter distances.
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
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    wulfax wrote: »
    loratliff wrote: »
    Good job! I'm off to run W7D3 today.

    Awesome! How are you doing on the program? I am always curious to hear other's stories.

    I love it! My first race is next Sunday. I played softball in high school, was an NCAA athlete in college, BUT I was never a runner. I HATED it. I think the furthest I had ever run continuously was probably a mile before started C25K. Today, I ran W8D1 -- 2.75 miles -- without stopping. I'm still amazed after every workout how good it feels and the fact that I did it!

    I have to say that your thread has been a huge inspiration, since we've been roughly on the same schedule. I love your attitude and always look forward to your logs.

    And yes, I agree with whoever said above that you're a runner now!
  • LazyButHealthy
    LazyButHealthy Posts: 257 Member
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    I ran both Saturday and Sunday, and should be on a rest day today.
    However, I'm travelling to Denmark tomorrow morning for meetings until Friday. I'm bringing my running gear but I genuinely don't know if I'll have time to run (there are evening things scheduled too) plus as I've never been there I'm unsure if I'll be in an area where I can run.

    Should I run again tonight just in case?
    I'm going to my first park-run on Saturday (though I'll be following C25K for that so as not to screw the programme plan).
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
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    Sure, three days in a row in this program isn't really going to affect you adversely. As long as you're not incredibly sore, I'd go for it.
  • AShannon54
    AShannon54 Posts: 111 Member
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    Thank you so much for your posts! I really enjoy following your progress and you inspire me to keep up my own running (even in the cold, lol)
  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
    edited November 2014
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    IndigoSue13 wrote: »
    But it's o.k. I've decided even if it takes me 6 months, I'm going to get through it!

    Great dedication! Keep at it, with a positive attitude you WILL do it.

    chunkytfg wrote: »
    Awesome wulfax. You know what you are now don't you? You're a runner!!

    I wouldn't go that far. :smile: But thanks!

    LazyButHealthy wrote: »
    I'm just back from W3D2, and in comparison to yesterday it was a lot tougher.

    There will be days like that. I have had days where I thought I could run forever and then the very next day of the program I was having to dig deep to finish the same time that was so easy before. Keep at it, eventually you will get to the point where running for 3 mintues is so easy you wonder what you were worried about. :smiley:

    bwogilvie wrote: »
    Intervals like that are a good way to improve your speed. You can also do high-intensity intervals, like Tabata intervals: run as fast as you can for 20 seconds, jog for 10 seconds, and repeat 6-8 times. Do them in the middle of a run, after you've warmed up. I'd recommend doing them just once a week, though, since they can be stressful.

    Running longer distances will also increase your speed at shorter distances.

    Thanks for the input on this. I will keep this up then. I don't know if I am ready for the 'tabata intervals.' I think I need a bit more practice on my speed first.

    LazyButHealthy wrote: »
    I ran both Saturday and Sunday, and should be on a rest day today.
    However, I'm travelling to Denmark tomorrow morning for meetings until Friday. I'm bringing my running gear but I genuinely don't know if I'll have time to run (there are evening things scheduled too) plus as I've never been there I'm unsure if I'll be in an area where I can run.

    Should I run again tonight just in case?
    I'm going to my first park-run on Saturday (though I'll be following C25K for that so as not to screw the programme plan).


    This one you have to listen to your body on. I missed a few days and then I ran 3 days in a row and for the next week I was sore, my legs were heavy, and I was just tired. If it was me and I knew I was going to have a few days of rest afterwards I would probably do it. But if I was only going to have 1 day of rest I more than likely wouldn't do it. I say this because I have the experience now and know how my body responded to that amount of activity.
  • jessiruthica
    jessiruthica Posts: 412 Member
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    wulfax wrote: »
    When I first started this, they said that I should jog at a conversational pace. I do not jog with anyone so what I do is breathe the songs while I am jogging, so if I can ‘sing’ them, I know that my pace is ok. If I am having trouble breathing the songs, means I probably need to slow down.

    This is a GREAT idea! I'm struggling with wanting to run faster but not being able to finish an interval because I'm running too fast. Trying this for my next run.

  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Program: C25k Week 7 Day 3
    Date: 11/24/2014
    Start time: 6:45 pm

    Goals:
    • Complete run portions of program
    • Increase my pace
    • Take advantage of terrain

    Distance: 3.1 miles
    Duration: 48:10 (1st out of the 21 I have done)
    Ave Pace: 15:33
    Change from last attempt: -00:30
    Change from W1D1 (Oct 7, 58:58): -10:48
    Change from fastest time (W2D3, Oct 18: 48:28): -00:18

    This day was one 25-minute jog.

    I ran for the entirety of the program and I beat my fastest time by 18 seconds. I had mentioned this before, but when I did my previous fastest, it was W2D3 and it has taken me 5 weeks to top that. To be fair, previous to this week I was concentrating more on run duration than speed, but there were a few days when I tried to beat that time and was not able to. Also, as I said before, on that day my wife had gone out and done my course so I had some competition that day and I refused to be beat and I pushed myself.

    Once again, I keyed up W1D1 and alternated a faster pace with a slower pace. These are my splits this day. Once again, I used MapMyFitness.
      •1 mile split    [o] Slowest       [•] 15:44    [o] Fastest       [•] 15:22 •½ mile split    [o] Slowest       [•] 16:18    [o] Fastest       [•] 14:36 •1/10th mile split    [o] Slowest       [•] 18:06 (at the 1.5 mile mark)    [o] Fastest       [•] 11:35 (at the 1.6 mile mark)

    Goal Achievement:

    • Complete run portions of program
      o Completed all the run portions.

    • Increase my pace
      o Beat my fastest by 18 seconds. I don’t know if I will consistently beat my fastest, but I hope to stay in the close vicinity of it, I don’t want like before where my times were +/- 5 minutes or so.
  • AShannon54
    AShannon54 Posts: 111 Member
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    Props on hitting your new PR. :D
  • chesnity3
    chesnity3 Posts: 960 Member
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    Congrats, I knew you could beat it.
  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
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    Program: C25k Week 8 Day 1
    Date: 11/29/2014
    Start time: 5:33 pm

    Goals:
      • Complete run portions of program
      • Increase my pace
      • Take advantage of terrain

    Distance: 3.1 miles
    Duration: 56:37 (21st out of the 22 I have done)
    Ave Pace: 18:17
    Change from last attempt: +08:27
    Change from W1D1 (Oct 7, 58:58): -02:21
    Change from fastest time (W7D3, Nov 24: 48:10): +08:27

    This day was one 28-minute jog.

    I went from my fastest run on November 24th to my 2nd slowest on the 29th.

    So this is what happened. I have said before that I am not a runner and that I do not really enjoy running. What I have enjoyed in the past is weight training. However, being as unfit as I am I knew that I could not just jump into weight training and see the results that I wanted to see (losing weight steadily and to be honest, I wanted to achieve a goal of running for distance). In addition, I did not want to join a gym (too self-conscious to work out in front of people) and I did not have the equipment at home to begin lifting. A few weeks ago, I finally was able to save up the cash and I bought a power rack, Olympic barbell set, and a bench.

    I put together the equipment the weekend before last and did my first workout on the evening of November 25th. That night I did not feel too bad, my inner thighs were sore but I figured that since I had been doing so much running that I had strengthened my legs. The next morning my inner thighs were VERY sore, so while I normally would have gone for a run that night, I decided to put it off until Thursday evening. I was traveling for Thanksgiving and was going to be in a hotel, so I had planned on using a treadmill for the first time. However, when I got up Thursday morning, from my knees to my hips I felt like I had been beaten with a stick, every muscle was sore.

    It was not until Saturday that I was able to go out and run again, it took me 5 days to recover from a 30-minute weight workout. When I did go out, my legs felt like they weighed a ton… each. It was not an easy day, however, I did complete the entire run portion.

    This morning (Monday December 1st) I did do a weight workout (my 1st since last Tuesday). I did it in the morning with the hopes that if I move around during the day and stretch periodically I will not be as sore. Oh, and before anyone talks about stretching and reducing weight, I did (and do) stretch and I can’t reduce the weight any lower as I am just using the bar (during the warm-ups for squats I don’t even use the bar, just put a broom handle on my back).

    Here is a question for those of you who do organized 5k’s. I have 20 days until my first race. How much rest do you give yourself before race day? The race is on Saturday December 20th and I was thinking about doing my last workout (which would be a run) on December 16th, then resting for Wed-Fri. The run is at 8am Saturday morning, does that sound like enough or too much rest time?

    Goal Achievement:

    • Complete run portions of program
      o Completed all the run portions.

    • Increase my pace
      o Not even close on this one. My legs were very tired, but that is only a partial excuse. I also felt like I did not have any mental toughness on this day, something I need to work on.
  • Just_Ceci
    Just_Ceci Posts: 5,926 Member
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    wulfax wrote: »
    Here is a question for those of you who do organized 5k’s. I have 20 days until my first race. How much rest do you give yourself before race day? The race is on Saturday December 20th and I was thinking about doing my last workout (which would be a run) on December 16th, then resting for Wed-Fri. The run is at 8am Saturday morning, does that sound like enough or too much rest time?

    Personally, that sounds like too much rest to me. I would do a shorter (easier) run or other workout 2 days before and rest the day before. (I sometimes do an easy bike ride or such the day before a 5k, but nothing that taxes the muscles.)

    Also, make sure you hydrate well the day before and get to the race early enough to warm up (and restroom break) before race time.

    Most of all, have fun!
  • wulfax
    wulfax Posts: 93 Member
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    Ceci_O_K wrote: »
    Personally, that sounds like too much rest to me. I would do a shorter (easier) run or other workout 2 days before and rest the day before. (I sometimes do an easy bike ride or such the day before a 5k, but nothing that taxes the muscles.)

    Also, make sure you hydrate well the day before and get to the race early enough to warm up (and restroom break) before race time.

    Most of all, have fun!

    Thanks for the input. What I plan for my current workout cycle is weights on Mon, Wed, and Fri with cardio on Tues and Thurs. My want is to leave Sat and Sun for recovery at this point. However, I usually go play with the kids on the weekend so I will get some exercise.

    If I do as you suggest, I would do a run on Thursday and rest on Friday. I think I can swing that. Up to this point (except for last week) I had been doing a 5k (walk/jog) every other day. So this seems feasable.

    Thanks again!

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