J CREW - C25K - WEEK 1

I did week three last week but forgot to post on here.....MY BAD!

Starting week 4 today and kinda scared about it.

But EXCELLENT work to everyone who is keeping it up. YOU ARE AWESOME!

I did w4d2 tonight and running outside is very different than running on a treadmill.. Im having a hard time with the 5 minute runs.. I will be repeating this week again. My route I take has 2 hills and Im working on my pace. I was able to run 1.9 mi in 24 min tonight so I think thats pretty good!

I did W4 D2 last night too. I run outside as well....on a golf course and the fairways can be elevated. That second 5 min run is a challenge for me as well! Gonna try to finish the week on Wednesday then I am heading out of town. Worried I won't be getting my exercises in on the road. UGH....hopefullly the place we are staying has a gym.!! haven't tried this program on a treadmill!

Hello everyone- just checking in, finished Week 4, day 3 today. ..and it wasn't so bad. I'm a bit embarrassed:embarassed: :embarassed: because I finally figured out why I was having so much difficulty with the last couple of runs...apparently my husband has been setting the incline to ridiculously high elevations 8, and when I thought I was resetting it it wasn't quite getting there- I definitely felt the different with today's run vs the others...so thanks for the advice,debs6.... I will continue on track with starting week 5, this week!

Cool Runnings Everyone!:glasses:

W5D2 done - and so much better than the first run of the week. Day 1 was hard right from the warm up - my first hill during the warm up challenged me. I had fought off an awful headache in the morning- so looking back that might have had an impact.

Today was great- so hard to believe that i could run for 8 whole consecutive minutes----TWICE! I am still taking it very slowly as my goal is to do the full amount of time and work on speed later. Glad it boosted me up- because on Saturday I get to do the 20 minute run without a break - but I am beginning to think that a large part of it is in the mind- so I am ready for it. If I don't manage - I will just keep trying until I do.

Mocha - I am really pleased that you sorted out your obstacle- now you can keep forging ahead. Remember to have the treadmill on a small amount of incline- otherwise i am told it is like running downhill the whole way. You will want to build you endurance enough to run outside if wanted. Hehehe - although your husband was obviously causing you to way overdo things.
It is great you worked out the problem.

Pizzygirl- I have not had any issues with side stitches-although I have heard on other forums that others have experienced them. Are you trying to go too fast, perhaps try slowing down a bit. The other issue might be breathing..... are you managing to get into a nice breathing rhythm? I can imagine lack of air would contribute. I would advise you to become comfortable with running 5 full minutes before you move into week 5 as the time arcs up very quickly and you would want to be succeeding with 5 minute runs before you move onto 8 minute slots - then on D3 -the 20 minute run. I don;t think you will have to repeat often - as the body quickly adapts-- you will get there very soon

Keep it up ladies - we are going strong!!

Debbie

Greetings Everyone!!

I just wanted to check in! I'm still forging ahead I did Week 5, Day 1- wasn't too bad. I made it through...a bit of a challenge.... 15 minutes of running! WoW, :noway: :huh: I surprised myself, kept at the slower pace. ...doable.

Debs6- Thank you for that tidbit, you know I didn't even consider making sure the incline was bumped at an incline....after that previous experience I was placing it at 0.0:laugh: . So for those of you who are doing C25K on the treadmill what incline level are you doing it at? Any suggestions that wouldn't be too aggressive for a novice runner like myself?

Finished W5 D1 yesterday. Wow! Didn't even realize I was on week 5 already until just now. Definitely glad I put in my gym time on a Friday, even though I REALLY didn't want to. Felt like junk from eating tons of sugary treats at work. Definitely feeling the need to keep my diet clean today, haha!

debs6- Good job sticking with the program and making it work with your health concerns. That takes dedication!

MochaBlues - I do C25K mostly on the treadmill and keep the elevation at 2. When I head outside, I notice that it is a little harder than the treadmill, but not completely killer. I feel like it's a good compromise for me

Another great side-effect of C25K, my legs are shrinking! My husband told me the other day that my thighs were half as big as they were before. I know that's an exaggeration, but the fact that he noticed means that they are definitely smaller! Haha. And I'm starting to see muscle definition in my calves and quads. Awesome!!

Hahaha, debs6, you're hilarious. Just remember that belly fat is the last to go unfortunately. This post really helped me understand that concept: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/375476-losing-belly-fat-ugh?hl=pond+belly+fat&page=1#posts-5117640

Completed W5 D2 last night, but I somehow missed the walk in the middle and my husband made me run the whole thing! So I essentially did D3. Geesh. My lungs were DYING by the end. Hopefully the real D3 tomorrow will not be as bad :S

Also, WHERE IS EVERYBODY!!! I miss seeing everyones' updates & where they are in their progress! Hope people are still sticking with the program and just forgetting to share

Good luck everyone!

Kiyak- thanks so much for posting that link. What a fabulous analogy - and one that I can fully understand rather than reams of technical stuff that I do not understand.

Delighted to have you as a new friend as well

Debbie

Good for you Mocha:) It truly is staggering about the endurance that we build up in such a relatively short period of time. It really seems that whomever wrote this program really knew what they were doing - I certainly didn't believe it possible - but am so surprised with each transition.

I think it was probably wise to gradually build up the incline of the treadmill- especially seeing the program is pacing things up very rapidly in week 5 - so the last thing you want to do is to overdo it and place unnecessary stress on our bodies.

Keep up the great work crew- happy running! Gee it will be over before we know it.

Debbie

I know you alll think I am crazy after finishing the 5K...but I am now running with a partner. She says I have a fast pace??? I don't think so...but, Tues and last night..we just did week 4 again. I am anxious to hit on up to the week 5! KiyaK ...how was it really? Do you mainly run outside then?

wow Debbie! That's what I am trying to do too! Run on grass. I am really worried about my knees. I need to set up a time to see this specialist in a nearby town so they can observe my running style. I think I need orthos...and I am good with that...just want to go ahead before my knee really starts to hurt again. I love the running and I feel so good when I am done!

Week 6, Day 1- Completed- not bad at all :drinker: incline on treadmill is still at 1.5, walks at 3.0 and Runs were at 4.2!
I was able to complete 2.02 miles in the 30 minutes (including warm up and cool down) calorie burn was 312 :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
Overall a good work out. I plan to increase incline to 2.0 for the Day 2, Run.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend:flowerforyou: And as always....Cool Runnings Everyone!!:glasses:

Just finished W6D2. Getting a little irritated with the C25K app for iPhone. Works just fine when on the treadmil and I am able to keep the app open just sitting on the machine. However, when I go running outside, it has been messing up. Today and the last time I ran outside, it didn't interrupt my music to tell me to run or walk. Then today I was finishing the second run and instead of telling me to cool down, like it was supposed to, it told me to run again. Wanted me to repeat the run section I had just finished. I don't know if I am somehow accidently hitting buttons while I'm running or what...

Anyway, ended up running outside in the cold & rain today. My other choice was to run on the treadmill in the basement literally staring at the corner. Running in the rain was less miserable lol! Only change I will make next time is to wear a jacket that is water PROOF instead of just water resistant. Ended up soaking wet by the end of my session :P

Tell you what, if you had told me 2 months ago that I would be running outside in 45 degree rain for 30 minutes... by choice... and even kind of enjoyed it... I would tell you that you were a psychopath.

Wow, I'm really proud of how far we have all come and how we are learning to work with our challanges instead of just giving up because it got hard ! And thanks for joining us, motivatedbride!

Hello Everyone!

Week 6, Day 2 has went down! Not much to report...the two ten minute runs weren't bad at all. I didn't change the incline, ran them at 4.0 and stepped down the 3 minute walk to 2.8 miles. Finished just under 2.0 miles, (1.92) with warm up and cool down!

Cool Runnings!:glasses:

I agree Deb, some days are just harder than others. Today was a little like that for me. Didn't have much trouble during my W6D3 run. I have never been good at keeping a steady pace (my husband used to be a cross-country runner and loves to point it out every time we run together), but today I was REALLY struggling. Kept speeding way up just to fall back down. Was able to keep my average pace around 10:30 minute mile though (those running apps are so handy for things like that :laugh: ) It was my workout AFTER C25K that killed me. I don't think I have been eating enough before my workouts. I think I am running out of fuel. Really need to watch that.

On a random side note, I was doing some research on those shoes with toes and may have found out why my knees were hurting so badly the other day. Could have to do with what part of my foot is striking the ground first. Video explainging the concept: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE

Am thinking that after I complete C25K & maybe run a 5k race, I might invest in some of those shoes. Maybe try some barefoot running next summer? I really think I'm half-crazy for even entertaining the possibility, but I have heard quite a bit about barefoot running in the last year and kinda want to try it out... :bigsmile: