Running Mania

So this time around, I decided to go with the C25K program, mainly so I could run with music and have the program running in the background telling me when to run and when to walk, instead of having to continually check my watch for interval times or go without music to drown out my incredibly loud and huffy breathing.

So I'm on week 4 now, though technically it's week 5 of running since I repeated week 3 of the program. I'm looking ahead to next weeks schedule and I'm more than a tad worried (scared) about the progression.

Week 4 consists of 3x - 5minW/U, 3minRun, 1:30minWalk, 5minRun, 2:30minWalk, 3minRun, 1:30minWalk, 5minRun, 5minC/D

Okay, I can, and am doing, however...

Week 5 Run#1 - 5W/U, 5Run, 3Walk, 5Run, 3Walk, 5C/D
Run#2 - 5W/U, 3/4mile(or 8min)Run, 1/2mile (or 5min)Walk, 3/4mile (or 8min)Run
Run#3 - 5W/U, 2miles (or 20min)Run

I'm thinking I can barely get through 5minutes straight right now, there's no way I'll be able to do 20minutes straight in a weeks time. Hell it took me over a year to get to the point where I could do that on a treadmill, and never managed to do it outside in 4 years of steady consistent running.

Does that seem like quite an increase or is it just me?

It does seem like quite a steep increase, yeah. But you can must modify it as you see fit. I guess that would make it harder to use the app though.

I'm not as familiar with that progression - I tend to prefer progressions with one-minute walk and gradually increasing run intervals, a la Running Room. Fwiw- I'm also following a return-to-run program (self-designed, but modified from RR) and it will probably take me at least a few weeks to progress from 5 min run to continuous.

abhainn wrote:So this time around, I decided to go with the C25K program, mainly so I could run with music and have the program running in the background telling me when to run and when to walk, instead of having to continually check my watch for interval times or go without music to drown out my incredibly loud and huffy breathing.

So I'm on week 4 now, though technically it's week 5 of running since I repeated week 3 of the program. I'm looking ahead to next weeks schedule and I'm more than a tad worried (scared) about the progression.

Week 4 consists of 3x - 5minW/U, 3minRun, 1:30minWalk, 5minRun, 2:30minWalk, 3minRun, 1:30minWalk, 5minRun, 5minC/D

Okay, I can, and am doing, however...

Week 5 Run#1 - 5W/U, 5Run, 3Walk, 5Run, 3Walk, 5C/D
Run#2 - 5W/U, 3/4mile(or 8min)Run, 1/2mile (or 5min)Walk, 3/4mile (or 8min)Run
Run#3 - 5W/U, 2miles (or 20min)Run

I'm thinking I can barely get through 5minutes straight right now, there's no way I'll be able to do 20minutes straight in a weeks time. Hell it took me over a year to get to the point where I could do that on a treadmill, and never managed to do it outside in 4 years of steady consistent running.

Does that seem like quite an increase or is it just me?

I am starting the program again too!

Hmm... I'd be tempted to redo the week you are currently on before moving up again. It does seem a bit steep!

You can do it! What's the worst that can happen? You need to take a break in the middle of your 20 minutes, and then just keep going.

You can also repeat weeks if that helps.

braveheart wrote:

abhainn wrote:So this time around, I decided to go with the C25K program, mainly so I could run with music and have the program running in the background telling me when to run and when to walk, instead of having to continually check my watch for interval times or go without music to drown out my incredibly loud and huffy breathing.

So I'm on week 4 now, though technically it's week 5 of running since I repeated week 3 of the program. I'm looking ahead to next weeks schedule and I'm more than a tad worried (scared) about the progression.

Week 4 consists of 3x - 5minW/U, 3minRun, 1:30minWalk, 5minRun, 2:30minWalk, 3minRun, 1:30minWalk, 5minRun, 5minC/D

Okay, I can, and am doing, however...

Week 5 Run#1 - 5W/U, 5Run, 3Walk, 5Run, 3Walk, 5C/D
Run#2 - 5W/U, 3/4mile(or 8min)Run, 1/2mile (or 5min)Walk, 3/4mile (or 8min)Run
Run#3 - 5W/U, 2miles (or 20min)Run

I'm thinking I can barely get through 5minutes straight right now, there's no way I'll be able to do 20minutes straight in a weeks time. Hell it took me over a year to get to the point where I could do that on a treadmill, and never managed to do it outside in 4 years of steady consistent running.

Does that seem like quite an increase or is it just me?

I am starting the program again too!

How did you find the progression the first time you did it?

Miss*Smiles wrote:Hmm... I'd be tempted to redo the week you are currently on before moving up again. It does seem a bit steep!

Believe me I'm considering it. I'm also thinking of just skipping the 20minute run and doing one of the other days twice. But...

scrumhalfgirl wrote:You can do it! What's the worst that can happen? You need to take a break in the middle of your 20 minutes, and then just keep going.

This. I would definitely be taking breaks, a few seconds here and there, but I know the next run I would be much stronger than before and boy would I love to get out of the 10:1 rut that I was locked into before.

That progression seems unreasonable. Why not stick with 5 min run/whatever walk and repeat 3 or 4 times for all of a week's worth of runs? What you have listed seems like a progression that should be spread over at least 3 weeks. In other words (I feel I'm not being very clear), take Day 1, and repeat it on all runs for a week; take Day 2 and repeat it all the next week; take Day 3 and try it the third week. On the other hand, I guess you could use the 20 minute run as a test, a challenge to see where you're at. I just don't think you should feel bad if that progression seems to steep for you.

Let us know how it all works out, and keep at it!

You could always repeat the earlier runs before doing the 20-minutes straight.

I do think it's partly a mental block for you (getting past the 10-and-1s), so if you just push through it by following the schedule, you're probably better off.

I'm curious though-- what comes after 20 minutes? You still have a bit to go before you get to 5K.

eta: nm, I just looked it up. I see that only ONE of the runs in the week is straight without breaks. Seems reasonable- then the other runs will seem very easy.

Tried the 20minute run today

Note to self: The way to guarantee a failed run is to start it on an uphill. Won't be taking that route again anytime soon. I just could not recover from the uphill at the beginning and had to take a few seconds to walk every 2 or 3 minutes. Being athletically challenged sucks.

abhainn wrote:Tried the 20minute run today

Note to self: The way to guarantee a failed run is to start it on an uphill. Won't be taking that route again anytime soon. I just could not recover from the uphill at the beginning and had to take a few seconds to walk every 2 or 3 minutes. Being athletically challenged sucks.

We are all athletically challenged in some way. Think positive. . You still got it done- nothing wrong with a few seconds walk every couple minutes. Good run today.

Yes I am glad I got it done. It took a lot to get me out the door this morning in the first place. I also think the fact that I ran yesterday morning (first back-to-back runs in a good long while) and did a strength workout last night were factors in the overall suckiness of the run. The uphill was just the last straw.

abhainn wrote:Yes I am glad I got it done. It took a lot to get me out the door this morning in the first place. I also think the fact that I ran yesterday morning (first back-to-back runs in a good long while) and did a strength workout last night were factors in the overall suckiness of the run. The uphill was just the last straw.

Good job! Yes, I think a walking warm-up is in order, at least, before starting an uphill run. I also find that when I do my core strenghth exercises the night before a run, esp. if I do them hard, it does affect the next morning's run. So don't worry, you are making progress! I speak as another athletically-challenged individual.

1.3 done for me today! Now that my health issues have settled down for now I can go for a run without fear of having to duck into bushes I look forward to keeping up with the program. I signed up for a 5k already to keep me going.

Hope your next run is a good one.

Lesley, I frequently feel the need to head to the bushes on a run, and I don't have any health issues. My body just sometimes decides I need to poo 3 times cause apparently the 2 before leaving the house just didn't do the job I don't though since I'm in all residential areas and it's quite open. Thankfully it usually occurs early in the run so I'm not too far from home or the car and can just turn around. But it is annoying.

Week 6, run 3 done. I can consistently run 10minutes straight now and I think I managed to go at least 12 in the first half. Second half there was walking. Oh well.

The thing that bothers me the most, and is kind of demoralizing, is how insanely slow I am. Today for example, the total time out there was 32 minutes. 5min w/u, 22min run, 5min c/d, but I still managed to go 3.71km. The longest I've gotten is 3.88 on a speedier morning. There are only 2 weeks of the program left and I know without a doubt that the last timed run will not be 5km. I had been toying with the idea of doing the Victoria Goodlife 8k in October but there is no way I'm going to humiliate myself in front of all those people. I'm sort of mostly okay with being slow, but I don't need to share it with the world.

Glad to know I am not alone but sucks that you can relate.

I am now on week 2. Have a good next run

I followed the c25k program, finished it and am in week two of a 10 k program.....still haven't made it 5 k lol, I am finding this running thing much much harder than I did 10 years ago.....I, too don't wish to share my slowness with the world, so I just focus on the little improvements and enjoy how easy the first two k are now.....even though the last few k are always a struggle lol. I have switched from a time based program to a distance based one, and I will be repeating a week or two for sure. Keep calm and run on....

I would classify today's run as a success Some of you will have seen my Facebook update today but for those didn't, I ran 6km in ~50minutes. That's a huge accomplishment for me considering my best 5k time was between 45 & 50minutes back in 2004.

I decided to skip ahead to the c210k program, week 9, which is 10:1s x 4. Ran the first 2 intervals, walked the 3rd and was determined to run the last.

So I'll be carrying on with the 10k program since the increase in run interval times is much more gradual and makes more sense to me.

I was impressed on FB.
And coming here to say I'm still impressed

Great work!!!!

Impressive!

Just catching up here since I was away and never saw the FB post either. I'm impressed, too, Andrea-- keep it up.

I'm glad you found the 10K program to be more gradual and something you can stick with.

Saturday's run was crap. From start to finish for numerous reasons, all of which I am aware of. But my time, considering I walked a really good portion of the 2 x 10:1s was pretty good. Not sure what was up with that but MapMyRun had my 1st km at under 8minutes. That's with a 5min walking warmup. Sure as heck didn't feel like I was moving that fast Though who am I to argue with GPS?

Redoing week 9 this week. So 4 x 10:1s. Today wasn't bad. My pace was slower than Saturday but I was able to get through most of each interval (had my head screwed on a bit straighter this morning). Took a different route today that I've never done before and there were a number of uphills that I mostly ended up walking. 6.09km in 53min. I'll take it.

Oh, you know how the street lights cause a shadow? Mine isn't looking quite so gross and ungainly these days


Deb and Lesley, I want to know how you both are doing.

Didn't run at all last week, so tomorrow morning I'm back at it. Two weeks ago I was up to 15:1s, though they were rough and I think I was only really able to do one interval of 15 and the rest were not. So it should be... interesting to see what I can or cannot do tomorrow.

abhainn wrote:Didn't run at all last week, so tomorrow morning I'm back at it. Two weeks ago I was up to 15:1s, though they were rough and I think I was only really able to do one interval of 15 and the rest were not. So it should be... interesting to see what I can or cannot do tomorrow.

Let me now what you did- would be interested in hearing about it.
I am not running as much as I am going to be going to physio to help whatever (Tendonitis, bursitis?)going on with my Achilles. However, I am signed up for the Toronto Zoo Run 5K on Saturday - this should be interesting.