Does couch to 5k work?

[Guest]

Originally Posted by JudeB

I've just completed week 7 and have really enjoying and surprised myself at being able to run! However, after the first run in week 1 my hips were so sore they kept me awake that night. I had to take ibuprofen the next day. After that though, I was fine. Regarding a stitch, they do give a hint at some stage during the weeks about making sure have are well hydrated. I take a large glass of water before I go running and thankfully I haven't had a stitch yet. I bought my running trainers in a Nike outlet store in the clearance section - I think they were only £29 but had been nearly £100! It might have been something to do with the fact that they are bright orange - you'll certainly not miss me out running . You could try Sports Direct or TK Max - they sometimes have good deals. Hope you stick with it and enjoy it.

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Thanks for replying. I’m hoping it’s just this week that I’m feeling it and I’ll make an effort to drink more too. I’ll take a look at sports direct too. Thank you.

[esteeds]

It works for me. I have done it 4 times in the last 10 years and my wife joined me this year. We are on run 2 week 9 tomorrow. I just turned 50 and although I have a few aches and pains after 5 minutes of running I feel so much better. We will be running in Florida next week. Early mornings before the sun comes up, really looking forward to running around HRH.

[esteeds]

Originally Posted by skalexander

I went for my first run yesterday since the Edinburgh half marathon on 26th May. I felt terrible for the first 3km but by the time I stopped at 5km I felt really good. When I was thinking about it, I actually always find that first 3-4km really though, then everything warms up and it gets easier.

So if you’ve taken a bit of time off, don’t sweat it. If you want to die in those first 20/25 mins, that’s okay, just keep on going.

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Good advice.

Also we find on days when our legs are sore that if we start really slowly and gradually build up pace the legs relax within 5 minutes.

[TinkTatoo]

Originally Posted by Clairelovestate

Thanks for replying. I am terrible at warm ups and cool downs and my next run won’t be until Monday so I will maybe watch a couple of YouTube videos over the weekend to see if there are any good ones...
.

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I found that doing the 5 minute brisk walk before and after the run helped and even now I still do it before all my runs plus I also do some stretches afterwards as well.

[Tubbsy]

I'm back on C25K.
I cam run 5k but was finding it hard to maintain the speed, so I'm using C25K as a kind of interval training
Nearly always wear a head band
And I brisk walk 5 minutes before and after.
But I'm not good at remembering to stretch!

[loola30]

For those that have recently done it, how did you find the transition between weeks 3 & 4? I’ve found the running for 3 mins tough this week (pathetic, I know) but just looking at week 4 and I’ve realised it’s now 5 min runs 😱

[esteeds]

Originally Posted by loola30

For those that have recently done it, how did you find the transition between weeks 3 & 4? I’ve found the running for 3 mins tough this week (pathetic, I know) but just looking at week 4 and I’ve realised it’s now 5 min runs 😱

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They are big steps between weeks 4,5 and 6. There’s going to be good days and not so good days so don’t panic. Every run, no matter how slow or many stops, helps build muscle and stamina and improves your heart and lung efficiency.

We left it 2 or 3 or 4 days sometimes between runs and that gives your legs more time to recover. Also at the end of a long run a, if you are feeling tired, fast paced walking/running will keep your heart rate at the same level as a slow run so I assume it is every bit as good as running.

Another option is to interval e.g. walk then run. Telegraph posts or lamp posts are great for this, e.g. run to this lamp post walk to the next. I did this last Sunday at the Plymouth hoe run for life. The last km was uphill past the royal marine barracks, there was no way I could have made it up running but lamppost interval walk/run did the trick.

As long as you are injury free then keep on going, no matter how slowly

[loola30]

Originally Posted by esteeds

They are big steps between weeks 4,5 and 6. There’s going to be good days and not so good days so don’t panic. Every run, no matter how slow or many stops, helps build muscle and stamina and improves your heart and lung efficiency.

We left it 2 or 3 or 4 days sometimes between runs and that gives your legs more time to recover. Also at the end of a long run a, if you are feeling tired, fast paced walking/running will keep your heart rate at the same level as a slow run so I assume it is every bit as good as running.

Another option is to interval e.g. walk then run. Telegraph posts or lamp posts are great for this, e.g. run to this lamp post walk to the next. I did this last Sunday at the Plymouth hoe run for life. The last km was uphill past the royal marine barracks, there was no way I could have made it up running but lamppost interval walk/run did the trick.

As long as you are injury free then keep on going, no matter how slowly

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Thank you. They are all great tips! 👍

[Leggibone]

So I’m doing the couch to 10k at the moment to train for the run Reigate 10k, seems to be going okay, on week 3 run 2, feeling good so far, though made a bad route choice yesterday and had to try run 2.5 mins uphill - had to walk at about 1.5 mins, but the last 1.5 mins run I extended to 2.5min to make up for it instead, but it’s all about trusting in the plan I guess!

[kellyreathomps]

Week 9 run 1 today. Sundays are the runs I do in the morning and the rest after work at about 7 and after being on my feet all day really start to dread doing them. This morning I felt so positive that the run felt really easy- it was more mental positivity than anything. To keep the running up I've signed up for the Newcastle 5k race for life on July 14th.