looking for advice from c25k survivors!

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smallerman
smallerman Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am just getting started in running. I was basically sedentary until 3 months ago and since that time have been walking 2-2.5 miles each night (at least 5 nights a week) I live in a very hilly area, so my walking and running involves lots of hills. According to my fitbit, the route involves climbing the equivalent of 19 floors (190 feet.)

I tried to do the first c25k workout (120 sec walk and 60 sec run eight times) on our road and only made it thru three cycles of running. After a rest day, I regrouped and did it today on a treadmill. I completed it without too much problem. I used 3 mph walking and 5 mph running. I had the incline on 1 for the entire workout.

I have seen posted that the transition to the outside from the treadmill is difficult.

In my situation, I plan to do at least the first few weeks on the treadmill and then go back outside, likely dropping back to the beginning of the workout when I face the hills again.

Q:Does this seem like a reasonable strategy?

Q: if you were in my shoes, would you use more incline or a faster pace on the treadmill? Would this ease that transition?

Q: How would you modify the plan to make it most likely to complete a 5K (running most/all of it - I can walk it now) 18 weeks from now?

Thanks for helping me out!

Replies

  • mrshoneybear1014
    mrshoneybear1014 Posts: 275 Member
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    I replied to your PM :) But I will post my response here in case anyone else is in a similar position:

    First of all, I am in the middle of week 7 and do my jogs outside in a relatively flat area and I am 150lbs overweight.

    First of all, congrats on starting!!!!! It's a fantastic program and I am enjoying it very much :)

    That is really tough that you live in a hilly terrain. Now that I run outside, I would find it harder to go back to a treadmill. It seems my natural run is varied during my run and the treadmill makes you stick to one mph (obviously). When I began, I did 3.0/4.5. My natural run seems to be between 4.0-4.5 I am quite slow!

    My suggestion would be to perhaps use a track in your town. Does your high school have a track around the football field? Is there a playground or park nearby with nice flat sidewalks? I would imagine it would be incredibly difficult with hills. I have a small bump in the road over here that I call a hill that would make most people laugh and I always dread that part lol. If you do not have a track that you can use, I would say perhaps the third workout a week to try to do on the treadmill set on "hill" or "random". Most treadmills have that setting and it will try to replicate hills the best it can.

    My c25k program is 8 weeks and at the end of the 8 weeks, week 9 says run your 5k. I am not familiar with an 18 week program. Although I am about 10 weeks in and I am on week 7.

    I currently cannot run a straight 5k, I can do it in about 51 mins with jogging most of it. I would just say repeat weeks until you feel comfortable moving on. I did weeks 1, 3, and 4 twice each before moving on. Listen to your body and don't overdo it but at the same time pushing yourself is good. It's a fine line.

    I hope I have helped !!! I feel like I've been rambling mostly lol.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    "They" say that of you put an incline of 1 it simulates outside. I don't really know, I find the treadmill much harder but that is a me gal thing. You could do a higher one to try to simulate your course.
    I think you are doing just fine with both. If you find it difficult outside, I wouldn't necessarily go right back to the beginning, just bump back to where you feel is managable. Keep in mind, c25k is not about speed it is about completing the time regardless of pace. If you can do the hills but need to slow down, do it.
    18 weeks is tons of time. Do what you can manage outside , then next week increase a little . The only benefit to the c25k is each week they challenge you to a longer time. If you can do that yourself, you will progress
  • wombat94
    wombat94 Posts: 352 Member
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    I finished C25K at the end of March (I'm now in week 5 of Bridge 2 10K).

    My biggest advice for people starting out with C25K is SLOW DOWN.

    Especially in the early parts of the program, it's not about speed. 5K is out there as a goal for distance, but I've heard of almost nobody who was actually able to run the 5K in 30 minutes by the end of the program.

    If you are having problems finishing any of the intervals, keep running, but slow down. "Running" isn't about speed, "running" is the form of movement where both feet are off the ground at the same time. It is possible for someone who is very fit to walk faster than I run - but they are still walking (one foot on the ground at all times) and I am still running (both feet in the air sometimes - only one foot ever on the ground at the same time).

    The running will build up your cardio capacity and eventually you will be able to run faster.

    For me, by the end of the program I was running at about a 5 mph pace for the full 5K, I've now dropped back in pace a little as I'm extending my distance.

    There should be a post with C25K rules:

    Rule 1: SLOW DOWN
    Rule 2: When in doubt see Rule 1

    Ted
  • Tim249
    Tim249 Posts: 46 Member
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    I can't help with the treadmill questions since I can't stand running on a 'mill. But if your goal is to run 5 kilometers then I suggest you run as much as possible outside and for distance rather than time. In my case, I'm a very slow runner and going by times I wouldn't have been close to 5K at the end of the program. Go very slow and do the distance.

    It's very worth it, hang in there!
  • ninpiggy
    ninpiggy Posts: 228 Member
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    I finished C25K at the end of March (I'm now in week 5 of Bridge 2 10K).

    My biggest advice for people starting out with C25K is SLOW DOWN.

    There should be a post with C25K rules:

    Rule 1: SLOW DOWN
    Rule 2: When in doubt see Rule 1

    Your post actually made me feel a lot better. I'm on week two right now and was feeling embarrassed at the gym last night because my jogging was at 4.0 mph. The woman beside me ran 7 mph for 40 minutes straight and 8 mph for an additional 20 and I felt like such a chump doing my wimpy intervals beside her. :ohwell: But I need to just keep this in perspective. If I am patient someday I will also be able to run like that. It takes time.
  • mostaverage
    mostaverage Posts: 202 Member
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    Wombat has some great advice - SLOW DOWN - especially if you are going uphill, hills totally kill my already sloth like pace. It s better to build slowly to the distance and then work on bringing the speed up.
    I find the treadmill more difficult than outdoors now but it used to be the other way round in the early weeks of C25K.

    I think your plan of building your stamina on the treadmill and then heading back outside is a sound idea, if you have to repeat a few days or a week then it's no biggie, do what your body tells you. If you have a football field or a running track nearby then consider doing laps there, you get the benefit of running outdoors without the hills.
    Having hilly routes near you is an excellent opportunity to build your stamina and endurance once you are comfortable though, Once you are up and down the hills doing 5k distances imagine how easy a flat 5k will feel! You will destroy the competition !!

    Run the intervals on the flat or treadmill until you feel comfortable & ready for the hills. Forget your speed, go at a pace than you find comfortable - speed will come later. Build slowly to the 5k distance, repeating days or weeks as you feel you need to - it's not a race. Once you hit 5k that's your benchmark time, then you can work on reducing that time or increasing your distance, whichever you prefer. Do it your way! don't get drawn into someone else's pace or schedule!

    Best of luck bud, I look forward to reading a "Graduation" post on the C25K group!
  • spearfox
    spearfox Posts: 276 Member
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    One of your friends, FORGVN , sent me over to this thread.

    Most everything has already been said.
    Go Slow.

    There is a little extra I will add.
    I kinda sounds like you might have a specific 5K race that you are going for. If that is the case then try to get a map of the race. That will give you specifics for the terrain you will want to train for. If you get a chance try the actual terrain out either on foot or bicycle.

    For me personally I have to keep an eye on my heart rate so I do not go to max heart rate.

    As long as you are not maxing out your heart rate and/or going too fast the only thing left is your mental block. Believe that you can do it since you have completed the previous steps. If you have several segments that day, only concentrate on the segment that you are actually doing. Don't think about the others you still have to complete.

    Don't be afraid to take extra rest days in between. I have taken up to four days between run days.

    A little extra warm up won't hurt anything.
    My warm up walk is typically 22 minutes since that is how long it takes to get one certain park where I train.

    I signed up for my first 5K tonight. The race is next weekend and I still have two weeks left on the C25K training.
    I also have the intention of doing a Warrior Dash in 5 weeks.

    Good luck and be safe. I hope to hear more about your race.

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