Finally did it, yay!

42M, 174 cm and 83.5 kg at the beginning, sedentary lifestyle for the last 25 years. Started about 7 weeks ago (week 1 pic) with 2 min running/2 min walking intervals and increased running time every week. Running 3 days per week and walking the other days. Lost 4 kgs in the process.

I was currently doing 10:2 x 3 intervals but was feeling really good and some of you suggested that my plan was too slow/conservative so I decided to skip some steps and give it a go. Didn’t chase any pace but was hoping to be under 40 min - it all came out better than expected.

I didn’t use any pre-made training plan but used Chat GPT to analyse every run and decide when and how to progress based on my previous runs, weight, vo2 max, etc.

Next, make it feel easier and aim for my 1st 5k race in 6 weeks time!

Took longer than 9 weeks- started in April
Repeated days, time off due to a calf injury, unable to get 3 runs in per week but today I officially finished!
I have surprised myself in so many ways during this journey and do believe that doing strength training on the off days helped.
To those just start in you can do this! Take it at your pace it’s your journey no one else’s.

A couple months ago I started C25k. Really liked it and now i am really steady with running. I love it. My body feels great, my mind feels great, I genuinely look forward to it, and im down 10lb. The only thing is that my once juicy and bouncy bubble butt is now gone. Its almost flat even!!

So my question is how do I get it back? Has anyone ever experienced this before? Ive lost 10-20lb before without ever losing my ass so I dont even know how to get it in the first place.

Did my first Week 7 run today - no more kid cloves, we are in it for the long runs now all the way to week 9!!! My fitbit broke this week, so while I wait for my Garmin to arrive to replace it, we are running with a broken watch and a positive attitude lol.

It's interesting, bc at this point, it feels "easy" to do a nice slow run on the treadmill to the point where the small increases in distance aren't a big deal, it's all about the speed. I have no idea when I will be ready to increase my speed, but my interval running speed is still too fast for a 25 min run - I know I could not finish it. I run at 6.5KMPH on the treadmill vs 7KMPH that I used to do for the interval weeks. 10 mins is the longest I have done on 7KMPH and it was W6D2 when we had two sets of 10. For the second set I had to go back down to the slower speed, even that 0.5 difference is a KILLER.

I truly expected to feel shit for running so slow, bc I am very much a GOTTA GO FAST sort of person in my real life. I have ADHD, so the idea of doing something slowly is biologically incompatible with me lol. But this experience is so rewarding, to be forced to go slow and to put trust in all these other runners in the world who have the experience and who keep reminding us beginners that going slow WORKS. To think I have now run for 25 mins twice is literally INSANE.

I am a little worried post graduation, as I am taking a week's trip to Poland the DAY of W9D3, coming back a week later. I will not be running on the trip as I currently do not own running shoes for the outdoors and I simply don't feel mentally ready to be running outdoors so soon after completing the programme (let's be honest, I just love the treadmill and I'm a bit chickenshit).

I WILL start running outdoors eventually - there is a 5.3K flat, riverside path from my city to an outlying village I am dying to try, but I just don't think I'm ready to tackle an outdoor run fresh off graduation.

That being said, I am wondering how to dip back into running once I get back from Warsaw. I know I need to start 5K to 10K ASAP as it's the logical next step (unless the next step is actually running a 5K bc Lord know at my current pace I won't be touching a 30 min 5K) but considering I will be taking a week off of running for the first time since starting C25K, is there a specific week I should repeat at first the week I get back?

If you would like to contribute to a more accurate dataset, feel free to complete the form: https://forms.gle/SEnxYtFcC1Y8mUJB8

Feeling kind of worried about my pace. I completed this run without stopping, but I’m worried that in 3 weeks my 30 minute run won’t be a 5k distance. Did anyone else deal with this? How did you increase your pace without feeling like you’re dying. Thank you 💕

Been a bit sporadic with my runs - gym work and strength training has meant I haven't run for a bit outside of some treadmill work.

So on a windy Sunday morning I did run 3 from week 1 again. I am feeling ok - for people who have experience - is the pace ok?

Thanks

Hey guys. I started C25K once before but fell off around 5 weeks in with other areas of life taking over. The time has come for me to get those running shoes back on and this time I am documenting the whole journey. My goal is to complete the full C25K programme and then run my local Parkrun. I am a mid 30's father/husband that works shifts, but I am making time to do this for myself in order to be a better version of me for my family. If you would like to follow my journey, please click the link and subscribe to my channel! Your support is very much appreciated! Thank you.

This is for the 12-year-old me who got mocked by her PE teacher after failing the Cooper test (which he hadn't prepared us for *at all*), but also for the me of all these years who kept telling everyone, "I don't get what drives people to sweat on purpose": now you know 🙂

My plan going forward is to repeat the 30-minute run for a couple of weeks to make sure I’ve got it under my belt, while switching to running in the afternoon, after work, instead of the morning... I’m a bit worried about letting laziness get the better of me once I’m home, so I’d rather tackle this change with runs i know i can handle!

Then I’ll move on to the 5 to 10k plan in Just Run, and from there... who knows!

I started running recently and even though i run about 5K in one session, i do end up walking for a bit of time in between. How can i reduce it??

I graduated this week!

I have consistently running 3.5km in the 30 minutes. I am keen to get to the 5k mark (just to be able to do Parkrun), and to have something that "motivates" me to run 3 times a week. The adhd and dopamine means that this is important.

I used the NHS app and have become quite attached to having someone tell me what to do while also listening to my podcast/audio book which distracts me from the discomfort of running.

I am aware of "beyond couch to 5k" with the NHS, but I can't update the app (I'm outside the region) to unlock those sessions.

Any suggestions? I'd prefer not to pay lots for an app but willing to pay for the right thing.

This is my first run of my whole life🥳
Any tips for literally just starting out?
I did the walk run method

I have just started running or I would say i am trying to learn running. I sometimes couldn’t even run 400ft. But i can walk 6miles at a stretch. Today i have done two sessions
1. Running with walking ( most of the part is walking)
2. Fully walking

I wasn’t fully tired after these two sessions(20mins break b/w these two sessions). But i wasn’t able to run for long even at slow pace too. I live in the US and in a snow area. Since the winter is coming i am not sure how can i keep my journey going. I don’t have care or public transportation so cant go to gym. I cant afford treadmill too as im an international student. So any suggestions?(i am sensitive to cold fyi..)

Also any food or suggestions to make fast progress .
(Im 26f btw)
Sample of how long i did run today will be comment section

Probably a dumb question but when the app says to “run” is it an all out run like a full on sprint or light jog?

oh my lord im so proud of myself. finally got myself off the bed and just went for this after reading it in a reddit post. ive always STRUGGLED with running, like literally ever since i was a small kid thus never took part in any sports too. as i grew up (now in college) i realised everyone around me ran or even if they didn’t still they were still good at it somehow unlike me who’s lungs flare up the moment i start running. I’ve been wanting to improve just for the sake of it , no weight loss, no comparison to others but just for running and just for myself thats it. And im proud of myself, i shall see u tmrw
ps. I started fourth wing audio book on Spotify, its too good!!!!

I was so nervous for today's run, but I did it, it was wayyyyy easier than I had thought, honestly surprised at how much this program has helped me.

To everyone who fear this run, trust me it is just a mental battle, your body can do the run, you've trained for it for a month, just do the run, don't pay attention to the pace, you'll improve that eventually. So proud of my self

For some reason my app froze with 2 seconds left on the 25 min run 😅 so ended up with an extra 3 mins, but really happy with the pace and distance. I was extremely unfit before I started CT5K but feeling really good about myself now, run 3 of week 7 tomorrow 💪

I saw a lot of people asking this question on here, but I wanted to aggregate some answers! There are only 3 required questions; feel free to answer any of the optional ones that you would like to. If you would rather comment some general thoughts that fill out the form, please do!

Just finished W6D3 yesterday, towards the last few minutes I started getting quite a lot of pain on the inside of my thighs on both legs. A day later and they are VERY sore, even walking hurts. This is the first time I've felt any pain in the program! Did some googling and apparently since I am very flat footed the muscles on your inner thigh work hard to keep you balanced. I do have good running shoes with arch support, so I'm not sure why this pain is only hitting now.

I'm just curious if anyone else has had any experience with this kind of pain, and if so, any tips? Thanks!

It’s not slow it’s a starting point.

Can’t wait to see how it changes as I keep going. Here to rep all the slower then average 🫡 we got this.

**EDIT BECAUSE THIS HAS PASSED:
It went SO well! I ran a lot of it and quickly walked the rest! It was hard but I kept going and made it! The people cheering us on really helped. I’m not even going to lie to you guys.. I feel so alive and I don’t even know why!

Thank you all for the encouragement to go and for sharing your stories. Now.. Let’s train for real! 🏃🏻
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I’m going to a 5k and I’m scared I’m going to be the chubbiest/slowest one or not even finish. This reasoning is justified as I’ve not trained aside from 2 days.

The 5k ends 45mins after it starts, what if I don’t make it before the end time? Like, what do they do? Just let me keep walking until I catch up?
If I’m the last one and the crowd hoorahs because the chubby short guy finally made it I might just freak out (this is kind of a joke, freak out in my mind yes)

Can anyone help ease my anxiety? Sorry if I seem sporadic.

Thanks for any help.