I did most of the C25K program before a 5K run in December. I ran that race and finished without walking in 37:34.
I trained a lot more this spring and just ran a 5K yesterday in 32:54. Now I have my sights set on breaking 30:00. 
Judith Prietht Excellent job on both the race and the weight loss/blood pressure.
fizzes, you’re probably trying to run faster and that’s why you’re running out of steam at 90 sec. Keep to the same pace through the program and don’t worry about speeding up until later. Longer distances improve fitness better that running faster.
RedRoses, you mentioned you’re going back to your old shoes, how old are they? Shoe are usually only good for 300-500 miles. Also if they’re much over 1.5 years old, the mid-sole(cushioning) material has age hardened.
Good for you on recognizing possible injury onset. You may need to dig in and get shoes now. Meanwhile check where you run, a crowned or slanted surface can aggravate knee problems. Very soft surfaces like deep sand can do the same.
I like to be paid in small, unmarked bills. I will send you details for the drop later.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Seriously, I’m glad to help.
I coach high school cross country/track so it’s really an extension of my work.
My old shoes were purchased this January and have approximately 50 miles on them, if that. The crown was the issue 3 years ago, I realized as I was walking home with a very painful knee that the road had a heavy crown. I’ve been looking for that now, because of what you’ve mentioned and linked to about runner’s knee, and I can’t for the life of me find any area that doesn’t have a crown, unless I run right in the middle of the street. The closest I’ve found is the sidewalks in the park by the waterfront, generally very flat with a couple of tiny (we’re talking a couple of feet) hills at one point.
I’m extremely paranoid. The runner’s knee persisted for a long time even after I stopped running, the soreness and stiffness kept flaring up.
I bought a brace, and am considering buying a second brace for my other knee because now I’m worried it’ll start acting up too. I’m also going to add some strength training and pilates to work out my legs and hopefully prevent any knee issues. And probably cycling on my off days.
Geez, this C25K has turned into a total life overhaul.
Thanks! I checked my time on the race site and it was 39:57 (pace: 12:52). I’m going to run tonight after work – I may end up repeating some of week 8.
RedRoses, since you have a past history of runner’s knee, you’ll need to make sure you keep your quads strong, they stabilize the knee. Your plan with the pilates and cycling is a very good idea. Also add some leg extensions and work the hip extensors and flexors.
fizzes, you’re probably trying to run faster and that’s why you’re running out of steam at 90 sec. Keep to the same pace through the program and don’t worry about speeding up until later. Longer distances improve fitness better that running faster.
I’m a pretty slow runner as is (4.3 on average) but I’ll try slowing it down and see if that helps. It feels awkward running that slow though. Can’t hurt to try though.
I know what you mean about it feeling awkward, but running slowly – like, VERY slowly – is the only way I can make it all the way through the scheduled runs. I think my running pace is just barely faster than my brisk walking pace. Maybe even the same. (It’s hard for me to accurately gauge because I’m not sure what the mileage is on the usual trail that I run.)
I finished week 1 yesterday. I start week 2 on Wednesday. My knees were a little stiff over the weekend, but they’re feeling much better today. I’m enjoying this much more than I thought I would.
At times while I was doing the C25K the only difference between my running and my brisk walk was that I was fully airborne between steps when running. It was like doing a walking race except instead of working hard to ensure I was technically walking, I was working hard to ensure I was technically running. The pace was much the same. But as I ran further I got fitter and when I ran a shorter distance I found I was naturally doing it faster. I still run very slowly when I’m pushing myself for distance.
Y’all have motivated me, and I’m starting week 2 this afternoon after work. I bought myself a Sony Walkman mp3 player (I’m such a child of the 80s) and have downloaded the podcasts for it, and that’s way easier than using my stopwatch. I think today’s run’ll be good - it’s overcast and cool here, which will be much better than the 90/sunny I ran in last week.
I took a break due to *severe *tendonitis in my left Achilles tendon and moderate in the right. I’ve been soaking them in ice water several times a day since Saturday. I have seen improvement, but they still pain me. I had hoped to at least resume walking this week, but I am having my doubts. We’ll see.
I have ordered (yet another pair) of new shoes. Following Runner Pat’s link I got a pair that should help control overpronation. They arrive today. After I walk for a few days I’ll try again, starting from day one.
I’m curious, and since this is the dope and all… cite? Here’s one interesting article about the benefits of short intense interval training as opposed to long drawn out affairs.
edit:
I hate to contradict the resident runner guru’s advice, but there’s some evidence that the shoes themselves may be your problem. I used to run cross country, and the rate of injuries, even (especially) among the top runners, who had 150$/pair shoes, is amazing. I myself had really bad shin splints the entire time I ran. When I started running barefoot (if I ran at all), my problems disappeared. Check out this article for a little more detail.
Well, if that does turn out to be the problem, I can say without fear of ever being proven wrong that it just isn’t in the cards for me to be a runner.
I followed the C25K and was doing very well and in fact had ran for about 6 months after I finished the program. I read similar articles like what you referenced (or I should say I think I mis-read them) and ended up injuring myself. I wanted to improve my pace and thought the intervals would be a good way to do it–in hindsight I think I pushed too fast and too hard. I probably increased my pace 25- 30% rather then a more comfortable 5-10%. But I wanted to get ‘out of my comfort zone’–also it appears I got ‘out of my fitness zone’ as well! I did okay for two weeks then I ended up pulling my right quad and am still out. Will likely be for another 4-6 weeks. So for someone starting the C25K program intervals seem like a disaster waiting to happen in my opinion.
The frustrating part is I was doing fine increasing my time slowly–but I pushed it and I shouldn’t have. Lesson learned–the hard way!
As to running without shoes, I have heard similar things, but I am not convinced for the average runner it has any benefit. For myself it would not as I pronate too much and use orthotics in my running and everyday shoes.
I’ll deal with each article separately.
Fit in Six
In the rat experiment, there was no test to see if the short interval group actually gained fitness. The conclusion is based on molecular changes which suggest a result, not provide it.
In the test with college students, they do test with a time trial but the duration of that trial is not stated. It could be a 5 minute effort which will respond to training interval style yet if the trial were an hour the results may have been much different.
The 6-9 min of high intensity training doesn’t include warm up or cool down. When I used to do interval work my warm up/cooldown could total as much as 4-4.5 miles. Do that 3 times a week and you have a runner doing distance work plus some high intensity intervals.
The article states that only cyclists and swimmers were tested.
Shoes are Bad
The first conclusion, that unshod feet were healthier is unsupported(HA!) by anything stated in the first page. What is a healthier foot? Nothing is said about in what way were the feet healthier.
Playing tennis is a short move and stop sport. Most running injuries are overuse injuries. The two are not comparable. (More on this later.)
The article equates expensive shoes with increased injury rates. More likely is that more experienced runners(thus running higher mileage) are buying the higher cost shoes. the higher mileage and most likely higher effort training is probably more likely the cause of the higher injury rate.
It could be argued that those running in hard sole shoes stopped as soon as discomfort was felt and didn’t go far enough to be injured.
I think the bias in this article is showing through.
When you run, you land with 2-3 times your bodyweight each step, walking is significantly less.
Man did not evolve to run fast over long distances, walking and running slow with breaks is more the way primitive man and modern tribes like the Massai handle ambulation. Also we did not evolve to run on concrete and asphalt but on soft ground.
Running fast on artificial surfaces is not what we are built to handle so we need what seems to be unnatural solutions to handle the forces.
Walking and running are so different that they cannot be compared.
Some excellent articles including the barefoot/shoes debate.
Hey, that may not be such a bad thing. Check out this article.
Hey too bad about your injury, hope you get better soon. However, you did kinda miss the point of intervals. It’s not supposed to be about an incremental increase in speed over long distances, you aren’t even supposed to think about percentages and pacing yourself. It’s meant to be something like 20 seconds all out sprint, 10 seconds rest, repeat 8 times. Of course the risk of injury is still there, but I think it’s much better than pounding out medium intensity mile after mile.
runner pat, I agree with your points about the shortcomings of the Fit in 6 article, except for this one, which I don’t exactly understand:
That certainly is a great training regimen, but it doesn’t show that “Longer distances improve fitness better than running faster”. At any rate, I grant that the NYT article is hardly the most rigorous (I just picked it cause it was easy to scan and recent), but there is much more evidence to back up the claim that short intense sprints are just as effective as long slow distance. The article linked to above is a better read imo, and it goes on to make an argument for skipping “traditional” aerobics entirely, based on the strength of interval training. As for the barefoot thing, thanks for the informative links–there’s a whole lot more to digest about this than I initially thought.
Thanks for sharing the info, Mojo Pin, but running is just about the best thing physically that’s ever happened to me and I’m not about to quit just because an article says that you can get fit in 12 minutes per week (a claim that strikes me as highly dubious, at any rate). Although if you want to debate it, that might be good fodder for a new thread.
Finished Week 5 Day 1 this morning! Only two more days until the dreaded 20-minute run, although actually I am kind of looking forward to it, in a, “What new and awesome thing will my body be able to do now?” way.
runner pat or anyone else who might know, how bad is it to get your running shoes wet? I ran today on a grassy trail after a good rain, and when I was done, my shoes and socks were sopping wet. I feel like this can’t be a good thing, but on the other hand, I do see people out running in the rain all the time, so what’s the deal?
I had to redo week 2 this week. Last week I did day 1 and got sick with a cough and overall weakness. I couldn’t run/jog/etc, which really sucked on a motivational level. Ever day that went by I wanted to get out there.
I’m about 80 percent and I went out with my wife last night for the first day of week 2. The first two 90 seconds I pushed it and was breathing really heavy when we got to the walking. Then my shins/lower legs/knees really started to hurt. My shins felt as though they gained ten pounds each and my knees felt rubbery and week. Still, I pushed through to complete the day. The reason I did this is because it felt more like an ‘out of shape’ type pain as opposed to ‘hey, you left your knee cap back there’ type pain.
I’m sore and my legs are tired. I’m curious, how long do you all suppose before this pain (shins/knees) goes away?
I’m also concerned that I’m going entirely too slow towards the end of the day, but I’m doing what I can.
If you run outside, your shoes are going to get wet. I recently ran in a downpour, and when I got home I stuffed my shoes with newspaper and let them sit for a day or so. I probably could have changed the newspaper after about 12 hours or so, but by the time my next run rolled around, my shoes were good to go.