I started about the same time as you did. I finished it okay and kept going, further and further. I now run marathons (not real quick mind you, but I do finish them).
Yes, I like running. As well as the fitness benefits it allows me to explore the neighbourhood. It’s even nicer running through bush trails/cross country. Another thing is that running is about the only time when I am actually alone.
I probably look like an idiot running around the neighbourhood, but I don’t care, I’m not doing it for them! But I do dance as well, and have for many, many years.
I had gotten to a point where I wasn’t hating it - and almost looked forward to it. Then I quit for a few weeks and I’m back to hating it. Hopefully as I build back to where I was I will start to not hate it again.
Before my last breakup in October, after which I felt too crap to do anything, I started adding 5 minutes to the end of each run, and eventually I was running for nearly an hour at a time. My longest run was 9.35 K (I seem to recall).
Then I started again in November, but the weather got really bad, so I stopped.
Just started again yesterday, beginning at 5K*. My intention is to get back up to running for one hour each time.
I hate the beginning of each run, and then the “wall” about 2/3 of the way in, but then there’s a feeling I describe as “being a running machine” that I absolutely love. And I love feeling the way I do afterwards, and the way I feel the next day, and the way I sleep. So, yeah, I do enjoy it. A hell of a lot.
My biggest problem is boredom, so I listen to talk radio (can’t listen to music as it changes my pace.)
*Question: can the body readapt to strenuous exercise after a long period of time? I hadn’t run at all for 2 months, but was able to go straight back to the distance I’d been doing at the end of the C25K program. Weird or normal?
As a much younger man I could easily slip back into exercising. Now at 48 it is much harder to go back. This may be more about just how far I’ve slipped, rather than about age though. Perhaps, if I ever get back into the shape I was in my youth, I would lose less during a break.
If you want to listen to music on your run, you can always try this: Facebook
I haven’t used it, but apparently it scans through your itunes songs and makes a workout for you using bpm. I don’t use it because I don’t have itunes, but I’ve heard it’s really nice.
I graduated, but hurt my stupid knee when I got to about 4 miles at once. And it’s taking forever to heal.
I’m getting there slowly - right now, I’m sticking to the elliptical, which is boring, but effective and doesn’t put strain on my knee, and walking. I’m pregnant now, and hoping by the time the baby is born, my knee will be better and I can start running (slowly!) again.
I graduated. I try to do a 5k during lunch twice a week, in addition to the other stuff I do (going to the gym, cycling, snowshoeing, etc.). The thing I like about running is that it doesn’t really matter what the weather is outside, I can go do it. Not the case with cycling, which is my preferred form of exercise.
Put me in the “hate running” camp. I went about 5 weeks, never got over 90 seconds of consecutive running, and when real-life intervened and forced me to stop for a month or so (got flooded out of my neighborhood for several weeks), I never picked it up again. I can run around playing sports - tennis, volleyball, anything that involves starting and stopping - but I have never been able to run distances, not even when I was 5’11", 135 lbs (I’m 5’11" 210 now). Basketball, soccer, anything that requires me to be constantly running I can’t handle. I wonder if I have poor oxygen capacity or something.
I couldn’t get past the part where my shins felt like they were being whacked with field hockey sticks.
After 4 weeks - Lungs, fine. Knees, fine. Feet, fine. Ankles, fine. Thighs, fine. Between ankles and knees, agony. I was enjoying myself too. Probably a little too much (oh, I’ll just run a little further…).
Well I just got in from a 6.5K - third run since I started again. The first 20 minutes were hell; the last 20 were fantastic. I felt I could go on all night. Now I’m having a beer and feeling good.
Just knocked out Week 7. First one I’ve been able to check off since I finished Week 6 in late July. I do so much better when I run M,W,F without fail.
jimm, I took several months off dye to injury, and found I was able to pick back up almost exactly where I left off. In other words, my experience has been very similar to yours.
I just got back from W8D2 (28 minutes). The first 9 minutes were difficult, the second 9 minutes just plain sucked and the last 10 minutes damn near killed me. I’m home now drinking hot tea and feeling like dried out shit on a stick.
7 k tonight in 45 mins. That’s pretty slow really but I was with a friend who was struggling so I had to wait for her on every corner. Then I dropped her off home and sprinted the last 1/4 mile. I also wore 1 lb wrist weights to see if I can combine a little bit of arm exercise too.
Glugging a Peroni and feeling good again and going out for a guilt-free dinner.
OK, I went for another run early this morning. After 2K I was in trouble. So I turned round and ran home - only 4K in total. Think it was that it was morning when I had low blood sugar.
But I appear to have broken my arse. It hurts even to sit down.
I took the weekend off again - it never got over 20 yesterday and was 4 with Wind Chill. I didn’t know until too late that it got up in the 30s this afternoon. Tomorrow should be warmer and I will go out then.
Things have improved. I managed 7.11 K this evening in 50 minutes, and really enjoyed (nearly) the whole thing, despite having broken my arse yesterday. I think I can just only run in the evenings, because I’ve found lunchtime runs to be a struggle too.
I also got extra motivation this evening by someone posting a picture of me in just my underwear on Facebook. Time for another run, I think…
Pardon me for resurrecting this, but I learned about C25K on the Dope, and was inspired to start the program based on an earlier thread here.
So, I finished the whole shebang today. Kept running for an additional 5 minutes, and ended up doing 3.5 miles in about 35 minutes. The weather was 30 degrees warmer today than it was at the same time 4 days ago, which was a bit surprising & tiring.
Still trying to get my distance up so that I’ll be ready to run the Peachtree on July 4, but I’m pretty fired up to be done. Just wish the shin splints wouldn’t have slowed me down.
I was out yesterday and found that my running trail was *still *too covered in snow to run. However, I have faith that it will be bare enough to run on by the end of this week.
I was never a C25K “member,” though I did install a C25K app on my iPod Touch and used it a few times (never went past week 1). I joined Weight Watchers last April and as part of my exercise, decided to start adding running into my walking routine. I used to run a bit in college and loved it.
My rural “block” is ~3.7 miles, and part of that, from one stop sign to another, is exactly 5K, with nicely spaced warm-up and cooldown distances before and after. Sometimes I would drive to town and run/walk on the sidewalks, measuring time rather than distance, just to improve my conditioning and “road legs.”
Last fall I ran/walked outside until the weather got too cold, then switched to my elliptical over the winter. I knew I’d lose some conditioning because of the no-impact part, but I figured my cardio would have to get better. By last week I was doing 5K on the machine in 36 minutes or less (I always did 36 minutes regardless of my 5K time because that’s 5 WW points for me.)
Yesterday I finally got outside again. Was hoping to run 36 minutes on the pavement, but got only 12 minutes in and had to stop for a cramp. So I alternated running and walking for an hour, total of 21 minutes running. Not too bad.
But today . . . I did my “block” and ran the whole 5K! Took me 34:10, not too shabby. I got pretty jazzed when I saw that I was beating last fall’s times to certain landmarks by quite a bit. So I toughed it out and finished.
A big first! Go me!
I’m doing an “official” 5K at the end of April. It’d be cool to get in under 30 minutes, but I’ll be glad just to do it. Especially considering I was about 220 pounds this time last year. After my run today I weighed in at 157, only 7 pounds from goal.
I did C25k a couple years ago but gradually I stopped running. I was really slow, though, nowhere near 3 miles in 30 minutes. I think I did 3 miles only a handful of times and it took 40 minutes plus.
It was a beautiful day yesterday so I decided to try again. I’m starting from week 4 since I’ve been doing the elliptical 5x a week for the last 4 months so I figured my cardio fitness was decent. Still, it was really tough although I felt like it got a little easier during the last 5 minute stretch. I think as long as I can keep myself from not getting side stitches by concentrating on breathing deeply I’m ok. I’m lucky enough that I’ve never gotten more than a little sore from running. We’ll see if I can manage to stick with it. I did it once so I can do it again.