Ok, I admit I haven’t read this whole thread but I just wanted to say GREAT JOB, ASIMOVIAN! 
Also, I know you’ve already downloaded one but I heartily recommend the Zombies, Run version of C25K. I never finished the regular one years ago when I tried, but this one captured my interest.
(Currently working on training for my first 10K now that my foot injury issue has been resolved.)
I’m a little late to the party but I’m starting a Couch to 5k program so I thought I’d join in.
I’ve lost 40 pounds in the last 6 months by watching what I eat and walking 3 miles a day but I’d like to step it up a notch. I don’t want to jog on the sidewalk because I’d feel too self-conscious so I joined the gym right next door to my office. Well I didn’t join yet, they have a 2 week free trial so first I’m doing that to see if I actually go.
So I’m doing to couch to 5k for treadmill which is slightly different than jogging outside. M
Many of my coworkers go to the same gym and some are even instructors and somehow I got roped into going to an intro to cycle-fit on Tuesday where one of my coworkers leads the class. I’m seriously not looking forward to that!
The plan is C25K on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Cycle-fit on Tuesday and something else on Thursday like maybe a bit of weights or elliptical machine or the pool.
That’s the plan anyway; we’ll see what happens!
Best of luck, FloatyGimpy! I am going to be restarting mine, unfortunately. As predicted, I allowed my vacation to interfere with the Master Plan. Oh well!
You can do it! Back on the wagon!
At this point I’m smoke-free for 15 days. My runs (3-4x/week) are now averaging just under 12 min/mile, still mostly 2-3 mile runs. Occasionally doing 4 milers. Lifting and rowing in the gym 3x a week.
I’m mostly fighting soreness at this point as I get back into lifting. My energy levels are soaring and while I don’t weigh myself, I’m back into 36 in waisted jeans for the first time in a while. And I don’t have to suck in my gut to fasten them!
If I can do it you can do it! Trust me on that!
There are two variants of C25K, one is distance & one is time-based. I strongly suggest the time based version as it’s much easier because it’s portable & alterable.
You can run when you’re traveling for work/vacation, you can alter your route on the fly & turn down a different street, you’re not limited to treadmill or track, you don’t need to compensate for speed on flat vs. hilly runs, you don’t need any fancy equipment other than a basic watch.
& good luck!
I’m glad to find this thread. I need some advice. I’m almost embarrassed to tell, but I did the very first run of the couch25K program and failed miserably! I stretched, did the 5 minute brisk walk, ran for 1 minute, walked 90 seconds…etc Slowly, my calves and insteps started hurting and slowly got worse the more I ran. I stopped and did more stretching and walked longer, but as soon as I ran again, my legs started hurting. It finally got to the point of hurting so bad I had to stop. I only ended up finishing half the program.
I looked on the web for any tips and I can cross off being dehydrated because I drink lots of water all day. I stretched properly. Could I be running weird? Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve “ran” and I’m not in the best of shape, but I was barely out of breath and had to stop from the pain.
My niece has completed this program and is now running lots of 5k’s and looks fantastic. She is my inspiration and I want to keep going. What do I do?
If my running form is off, how do I fix it?
Good luck to all you new runners!
MissSwitac, are you trying to run on the balls of your feet or your toes? What shoes are you wearing?
What surface were you running on?
Upon thinking about it, yes I probably was running on the balls of my feet. Just a slow jog. I was running on a black top walking track at a local park. Shoes were Merrell Barefoot Glove type shoes. I don’t know the exact type.
Not everyone is suited to barefoot/minimalist running. There have been recent reports of injuries among that subset of runners.
As a beginning runner, you don’t have the conditioning to run on the balls of your feet. A heel strike (still almost flatfooted) is fine at a slow pace. Just be careful that you don’t overstride(reaching out). The footplant should be under your center of gravity. Even landing on the balls of your feet should be near flatfooted.
You really should get checked for foot type and get suitable shoes.
Look for a running shoe store or local running club.
I do a triathlon (paddle 7 miles downstream, bike 14 hilly miles, run 3 hilly miles) – last year was the 1st time I actually trained for the run portion.
I should really start training for the run portion again.
This year I did a shorter race (paddle 6, bike 8, run 3) and trained for the run portion of that. But I stopped running afterwards.
Brian
The current wisdom seems to be to not do any stretches at all before running. I only do
a light stretch after I run and I feel fine.
Thanks runner pat! You’ve been very helpful! Interesting reading about not stretching. I will look into getting better running shoes and work on improving my stride.
I really want to make this a part of my lifestyle, for many many reasons. I’ll report back on how’s things go.
Had my first day today. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I kept my speed at 3 for walking and 4 for jogging. I had to really resist pushing myself a bit harder because I knew I’d regret it if I did!
Great job!
I finally got back on the horse last night. I “started over,” but decided to start on the Week 2 program just to have a better idea of where I am, and I also kicked the run speed up to 5.0mph (3.5 for the brisk walk). I made it through, and it definitely pushed me more than when I started with Week 1, but not overly so, I think.
The one thing I did notice late last night and early this morning is that both of my achilles ached. I don’t seem to be noticing it now, but I wonder if that’s normal for someone starting out, or if I’ve got some kind of form issue that is causing that. Any thoughts?
Asimovian, kinda early to tell. Things to look for: Overstretching the calf/achillies. Running uphill especially if you heel strike. Trying to run on the balls of your feet(forcing the footplant).
I know I just seemed to contradict myself. It’s natural when running at a slow pace to heelstrike, work up to a midfoot plant gradually. When running uphill, the footplant should shift to the midfoot as the slope steepens.
It could also just be plain old breaking in pains. Keep an eye on it and be cautious.
Ice it well. Freeze styorofoam cups with water and you can massage with the ice block.
If anything, I suspect I’m heel-striking rather than running on the balls of my feet. I only have the treadmill on the first level of incline, but I’ll try to focus a little more on where I’m making contact next time around – thanks!
Finished week one! It’s been pretty good. I found that walking at 3 and jogging at 4 was pretty easy so today I bumped it up to 3.5 and 4.5 with an incline of 3%. It was a bit more challenging so I think that’s a good pace.
A friend and I signed up for a 5 mile run at the end of October to keep us motivated to continue with the jogging.
The spinning class on Tuesday was good in that I was able to keep up for the whole class but bad in that the next day I felt like I’d been violated by the bike seat and I’m still a little sore today.
Good luck, joggers! Your updates are appreciated as they help to motivate. 
Asimovian, heel-striking is not a problem in itself unless the shoes you’re wearing have heels that are lower than what you usually wear.
I finally started run training for my October triathlon. Run 4 minutes, walk as needed, run 4 minutes, etc. Probably was about 5 k including a non trivial hill.
The walk portion started out < 30 seconds but after the hill climb it was quite a bit longer.
Not too bad for my first run since May
Brian
