Couch to 5k - any good?
Discussion
olly22n said:
Captain Benzo said:
Morning Chaps,
i finally got run 3 of week nine done last night after a week long break with a stomach bug ( cheers kids!). It was killer, i really pushed myself too hard.
a bit of a set back and by no means a quick one, 34mins for 5k.
on a positive side my 6-monthly checkup for hypertension on monday was positive. my BP is lower than ever before and i've lost a stone in weight. i've set a target of another stone by christmas.
i'm going to keep at the 30minute runs, bring my pace up to hit 5k and then start building up to 10k.
i am finding it hard, I am struggling at times but i remember week 1 and struggling with 90seconds.
100% sexual gazelle....BOOOOM!
I'm interested to hear your motivations behind aiming for 10k.i finally got run 3 of week nine done last night after a week long break with a stomach bug ( cheers kids!). It was killer, i really pushed myself too hard.
a bit of a set back and by no means a quick one, 34mins for 5k.
on a positive side my 6-monthly checkup for hypertension on monday was positive. my BP is lower than ever before and i've lost a stone in weight. i've set a target of another stone by christmas.
i'm going to keep at the 30minute runs, bring my pace up to hit 5k and then start building up to 10k.
i am finding it hard, I am struggling at times but i remember week 1 and struggling with 90seconds.
100% sexual gazelle....BOOOOM!
(not nit picking, i'm at the 5k stage now and wondering what to do next and why)
smn159 said:
V8mate said:
And also how old Benzo is. If he's much over 40, he should stick with 5k runs and mix it with muscle building exercise rather than more muscle munching cardio.
Why would that be? Genuine question as I'm 'over 40' and in the process of moving from 5k to 10kAt work, three of us are in our 40s (I'm the eldest); one of the others runs marathons, the other regulalry does 60-100 mile cycle races. Both look old. Both are getting more frequent injuries. Neither are really seeing much in the way of performance gains, in spite of hard training, as they did in their 20s and 30s.
I do weight lifting, boxing (training) and then cycle at the weekends. All three deliver big cardio hits, but two also involve building muscle (either directly or as part of the training). I don't have to watch my diet, I'm fitter than I was when I was 16 and have only had one related injury in 4 years.
Im 35, do a marathon is on my bucket list, so im heading towards that, ive seen my upper body muscle mass reduce a little of the past month of training just for 21k, I have really good genetics for muscle building, my thighs and calfs are getting bigger. I really should add a day of upper body lifting. I need to get my routine in order.
Id stick with 5km for at least a year, get your time down and be happy with it, moving to 10k is a bigger time investment, its an hour to run then a good 20minutes of cooldown, stretching and yoga after if you want to do it right. Doing 21k just seems to eat time, 4 hours ish for each 2 hours run, cooling down, hydrating, stretching etc
If you do fancy adding something different into the mix, add or substitute in a day of sprint training.
Id stick with 5km for at least a year, get your time down and be happy with it, moving to 10k is a bigger time investment, its an hour to run then a good 20minutes of cooldown, stretching and yoga after if you want to do it right. Doing 21k just seems to eat time, 4 hours ish for each 2 hours run, cooling down, hydrating, stretching etc
If you do fancy adding something different into the mix, add or substitute in a day of sprint training.
OK thanks guys - food for thought. Maybe I'll stick with 5k for now and add some more strength work in between.
Reason for wanting to change is that 5k times are still coming down quickly - am at around 23.30 now but still taking chunks of time off each week. My 3-4 times a week routine is to run a 5k 'loop' at a quick-ish (for me) pace, then to get the dog and take him out on a much slower 5k, with occasional stops while he sniffs stuff and has a dump. I seem to settle easily into a relaxed slower pace for the 'second' 5k and am thinking that i could do a slow 10k without too much extra effort.
If it's not the way to go, then I'll stick with what I'm doing and add the strength work - every day's a school day
Reason for wanting to change is that 5k times are still coming down quickly - am at around 23.30 now but still taking chunks of time off each week. My 3-4 times a week routine is to run a 5k 'loop' at a quick-ish (for me) pace, then to get the dog and take him out on a much slower 5k, with occasional stops while he sniffs stuff and has a dump. I seem to settle easily into a relaxed slower pace for the 'second' 5k and am thinking that i could do a slow 10k without too much extra effort.
If it's not the way to go, then I'll stick with what I'm doing and add the strength work - every day's a school day
I try to alternate running with TRX-based "bodyweight" exercise. I'm really not interested in being all big and muscled as it would interfere with my climbing but the TRX stuff is great for core strength (needed in running and especially in climbing) and is more than enough for the muscle strength I need for climbing at my level.
I run 3 times a week - 1 5k, 1 5k intervals and one 10-12k, having started around 6 months ago as a change from the cross-trainer of ultimate boredom.
I run 3 times a week - 1 5k, 1 5k intervals and one 10-12k, having started around 6 months ago as a change from the cross-trainer of ultimate boredom.
olly22n said:
I'm interested to hear your motivations behind aiming for 10k.
(not nit picking, i'm at the 5k stage now and wondering what to do next and why)
A good question. I played rugby to quite a high level up until going to uni. since then I have treated my body like a dustbin and the weight has piled on. A health scare 3 years ago has re-focussed me on losing weight. Exercise helps to clear my head and will one day get me off the tablets that make me feel like s(not nit picking, i'm at the 5k stage now and wondering what to do next and why)
t every day. at one point i was 137kg, that is fking ridiculous. i'm now 119kgI'm 34, 6'1" and very broad. the fatty mass is all on my torso.
i have been hillwalking for years, walking 25miles is easy, stamina isnt a problem at low speed. I did a 15mile night walk in november last year with a couple of mates. I wanted to go faster but they were slowing me down. my aim is to run it at some point for no other reason than to prove to myself that i can.
Couch 2 5k was a natural progression. i have signed up for the beast race in September, a 10K obstacle race. i have a couple of local 10ks on my radar for next year.
Before i can do this though, i need to shift some weight, a lot of it and i will continue to do so along with increasing distance and pace.
I've found something that I enjoy and can fit into my home life. getting better at it is a natural progression.
Get ready for some excuses
So after completing week 1 and feeling pretty chuffed with myself my old back issue came back to haunt me, not good, while waiting for it to shift i was walking for 30 minutes every other day. Al good i hear you say, well yes but unfortunately this served to make my back worse and my sciatica started to rear its ugly head, so backed off the walking and waited for it to clear. This brings us up to date.
I basically have done nothing for a couple of weeks now but am back to full strength physically so it is back to operation lose weight and get in shape!
Having seen a dr for something yesterday (i will chuck a thread in about this later) I was telling him about the C25K stuff and my back etc. He said that I should get back into swimming, I used to go a couple of times a week and it helped my back no end.
So there is a new plan, substitute one run a week with a swim but use the C25K method in my swim, will this work or am I just nuts?
So after completing week 1 and feeling pretty chuffed with myself my old back issue came back to haunt me, not good, while waiting for it to shift i was walking for 30 minutes every other day. Al good i hear you say, well yes but unfortunately this served to make my back worse and my sciatica started to rear its ugly head, so backed off the walking and waited for it to clear. This brings us up to date.
I basically have done nothing for a couple of weeks now but am back to full strength physically so it is back to operation lose weight and get in shape!
Having seen a dr for something yesterday (i will chuck a thread in about this later) I was telling him about the C25K stuff and my back etc. He said that I should get back into swimming, I used to go a couple of times a week and it helped my back no end.
So there is a new plan, substitute one run a week with a swim but use the C25K method in my swim, will this work or am I just nuts?
C0ffin D0dger said:
Haven't had a chance to read the whole thread yet but I started on the couch to 5k journey last night, first "run" of week 1 and I really don't feel too bad this morning. I actually covered just over 4k between the warm up / cool down walks and the running so I guess it mostly boils down to upping the pace over time.
Also using the NHS app which seems to do the job. I hoping to stick with this as the reality of being quite unfit has kicked in. I've never been massively overweight but always hovered around the 16 stone mark without doing loads of exercise, I'm 6ft3 so able to carry it, however I've been on steroids for nearly a year now thanks to a rare condition and have piled it on so now pushing 18 stone, if I can get back to 16st that would be great, but if I could ever get back to my glory days of being nearer 14st that would be amazing.
Going to see how it goes for a week or two and then invest in some proper running shoes if it is suiting me. 10k runs within a year?
This was going well for me, got midway through week 2 and then copped the mother of all colds from the kids, proper man-flu job. It's been over two weeks and I'm just starting to see the back of it. Probably another week before I'll be ready for exercise. Guessing I'll be starting at week 1 all over again. Frustrating I guess but I'm glad I wasn't further into the program. What do you do if you get hit with illness at week 7/8/9? I guess you can go back a couple of weeks if needs be and build up again?Also using the NHS app which seems to do the job. I hoping to stick with this as the reality of being quite unfit has kicked in. I've never been massively overweight but always hovered around the 16 stone mark without doing loads of exercise, I'm 6ft3 so able to carry it, however I've been on steroids for nearly a year now thanks to a rare condition and have piled it on so now pushing 18 stone, if I can get back to 16st that would be great, but if I could ever get back to my glory days of being nearer 14st that would be amazing.
Going to see how it goes for a week or two and then invest in some proper running shoes if it is suiting me. 10k runs within a year?
C0ffin D0dger said:
What do you do if you get hit with illness at week 7/8/9? I guess you can go back a couple of weeks if needs be and build up again?
I'm at end of week 8. Using it to rehab a badly sprained ankle - advised by physio to try running round recreation ground - soft uneven ground. I haven't bothered with the podcasts because I take the dog out with me - I use a gym boss timer which can be programmed with the intervals.I haven't had any injury or fitness issues - the programme really works - surprising how the big jump to 20 minutes happens. If you are very untrained then don't do any other exercise other than stretching.
Generally speaking if you have cold symptoms above the neck i.e.. sore throat, runny nose you can tough it out and run (very slowly). If below the neck - fever, cough, aches and pains - take time off. Will do you no harm to go back a couple of weeks.
I think 5k for most older and unfit people is ambitious. I've only hit that pace on one run - the idea is to get you running and continue to run 30mins 3 x weekly. 10k in a year is not unrealistic there are programs to take you from 5k to 10k
I'd get proper running shoes ASAP - go to a specialist and take advice. You're more likely to hurt yourself in the early weeks in s
t or worn shoes. I bought some Salomon XA pros on the grounds that they'd do OK for walking or knocking around if my ankle didn't hold up to running. I hadn't tried running shoes for 20 years - they are very goodEdited by oddman on Sunday 17th July 10:58
Good running shoes, from a RUNNING shop, whre you can havea gait analysis done too, are very worthwhile.
I bought New Balance Fresh Foam (wide fitting) and since I've had them I've progressed more and more.
Anyway, just popping back in to see who's progressing - and there aren't really any updates?
I was in the UK the week before last, and made the most of the local beach promenades to do my morning 10km (Sandbanks to Bournemouth Pier and back). A mate who's a triathlete suggested I try a local ParkRun (www.parkrun.org.uk) for an orgainsed trail run.
Sod it. I'll give it a go.
Registered online. Got my barcode printed. Went to Moors Valley Country Park on the Saturday morning.
244 runners that morning!
It's a bit different to being out running alone, I can tell you.
My first trail run, first officially registered 5km.
PB: 28m14s
Happy with that!
So I've gone from, "When's this 1 minute going to end? I can't run any further!", to 28 minute 5km runs and 1h 10km times.
Stick with it. It'll come.
No including interval training, and whilst it's been very warm, even early mornings, it's gone well so far.
@ Benzo: I'm definitely not gazelle like, weight's the same, but my shape's changed (leg muscles!) but my wife appreciates the extra energy I have
I bought New Balance Fresh Foam (wide fitting) and since I've had them I've progressed more and more.
Anyway, just popping back in to see who's progressing - and there aren't really any updates?
I was in the UK the week before last, and made the most of the local beach promenades to do my morning 10km (Sandbanks to Bournemouth Pier and back). A mate who's a triathlete suggested I try a local ParkRun (www.parkrun.org.uk) for an orgainsed trail run.
Sod it. I'll give it a go.
Registered online. Got my barcode printed. Went to Moors Valley Country Park on the Saturday morning.
244 runners that morning!
It's a bit different to being out running alone, I can tell you.
My first trail run, first officially registered 5km.
PB: 28m14s
Happy with that!
So I've gone from, "When's this 1 minute going to end? I can't run any further!", to 28 minute 5km runs and 1h 10km times.
Stick with it. It'll come.
No including interval training, and whilst it's been very warm, even early mornings, it's gone well so far.
@ Benzo: I'm definitely not gazelle like, weight's the same, but my shape's changed (leg muscles!) but my wife appreciates the extra energy I have
5potTurbo said:
Good running shoes, from a RUNNING shop, whre you can havea gait analysis done too, are very worthwhile.
I bought New Balance Fresh Foam (wide fitting) and since I've had them I've progressed more and more.
Anyway, just popping back in to see who's progressing - and there aren't really any updates?
I was in the UK the week before last, and made the most of the local beach promenades to do my morning 10km (Sandbanks to Bournemouth Pier and back). A mate who's a triathlete suggested I try a local ParkRun (www.parkrun.org.uk) for an orgainsed trail run.
Sod it. I'll give it a go.
Registered online. Got my barcode printed. Went to Moors Valley Country Park on the Saturday morning.
244 runners that morning!
It's a bit different to being out running alone, I can tell you.
My first trail run, first officially registered 5km.
PB: 28m14s
Happy with that!
So I've gone from, "When's this 1 minute going to end? I can't run any further!", to 28 minute 5km runs and 1h 10km times.
Stick with it. It'll come.
No including interval training, and whilst it's been very warm, even early mornings, it's gone well so far.
@ Benzo: I'm definitely not gazelle like, weight's the same, but my shape's changed (leg muscles!) but my wife appreciates the extra energy I have
agree with the shoes, I had my gait analysed and proper shoes and socks make a huge difference.I bought New Balance Fresh Foam (wide fitting) and since I've had them I've progressed more and more.
Anyway, just popping back in to see who's progressing - and there aren't really any updates?
I was in the UK the week before last, and made the most of the local beach promenades to do my morning 10km (Sandbanks to Bournemouth Pier and back). A mate who's a triathlete suggested I try a local ParkRun (www.parkrun.org.uk) for an orgainsed trail run.
Sod it. I'll give it a go.
Registered online. Got my barcode printed. Went to Moors Valley Country Park on the Saturday morning.
244 runners that morning!
It's a bit different to being out running alone, I can tell you.
My first trail run, first officially registered 5km.
PB: 28m14s
Happy with that!
So I've gone from, "When's this 1 minute going to end? I can't run any further!", to 28 minute 5km runs and 1h 10km times.
Stick with it. It'll come.
No including interval training, and whilst it's been very warm, even early mornings, it's gone well so far.
@ Benzo: I'm definitely not gazelle like, weight's the same, but my shape's changed (leg muscles!) but my wife appreciates the extra energy I have
I managed to strain my knee on a kerb a few weeks back, running was painful so i took to cycling. I'm now doing 15k twice a week and 20k on a friday after work. going to mix it up with running again tonight, see how the knee holds up. i'm still pretty heavy but I have much more energy and my attitude has changed; if i've had a s
tty day, instead of smouldering in front of the telly, i get out for a bike ride, the beautiful aberdeenshire countryside really puts a different perspective on things.the question of what to do if you are ill at week 6+? this happened to me a couple of weeks. i tended to take a week off and repeat the last week that I had started. i found that the first run of the week was a killer, #2 easier and #3 easier still. if i got to #3 and still struggling, i'd repeat. it took me 13 weeks in all to do C25K.
remember, you are doing this for you, make your own rules. soon you will be both a sexual gazelle and a magnificent b
d, it's both science and a fact.I am tight so I put off buying proper running shoes for ages. £20 - £30 from sports direct. That was me. But after I kept getting little niggles I had to give it a try, the visit to a proper shoe shop.
Anyway, found that I have wide feet(not generally wide so a new one on me!) and my strides are too long and the motion isn't too smooth as well as the fact that I heal strike which was a mystery, as I thought I was midfoot.
Anyway £80 later I had bought my first proper running shoes - any it makes a big difference, I'm faster with no injury so far and this has made me more confident.
To note, I started with couch to 5k but I reguarly do about 5miles or more per run now. not massive but enough to fill the best part of an hour.
Anyway, found that I have wide feet(not generally wide so a new one on me!) and my strides are too long and the motion isn't too smooth as well as the fact that I heal strike which was a mystery, as I thought I was midfoot.
Anyway £80 later I had bought my first proper running shoes - any it makes a big difference, I'm faster with no injury so far and this has made me more confident.
To note, I started with couch to 5k but I reguarly do about 5miles or more per run now. not massive but enough to fill the best part of an hour.
C0ffin D0dger said:
C0ffin D0dger said:
Haven't had a chance to read the whole thread yet but I started on the couch to 5k journey last night, first "run" of week 1 and I really don't feel too bad this morning. I actually covered just over 4k between the warm up / cool down walks and the running so I guess it mostly boils down to upping the pace over time.
Also using the NHS app which seems to do the job. I hoping to stick with this as the reality of being quite unfit has kicked in. I've never been massively overweight but always hovered around the 16 stone mark without doing loads of exercise, I'm 6ft3 so able to carry it, however I've been on steroids for nearly a year now thanks to a rare condition and have piled it on so now pushing 18 stone, if I can get back to 16st that would be great, but if I could ever get back to my glory days of being nearer 14st that would be amazing.
Going to see how it goes for a week or two and then invest in some proper running shoes if it is suiting me. 10k runs within a year?
This was going well for me, got midway through week 2 and then copped the mother of all colds from the kids, proper man-flu job. It's been over two weeks and I'm just starting to see the back of it. Probably another week before I'll be ready for exercise. Guessing I'll be starting at week 1 all over again. Frustrating I guess but I'm glad I wasn't further into the program. What do you do if you get hit with illness at week 7/8/9? I guess you can go back a couple of weeks if needs be and build up again?Also using the NHS app which seems to do the job. I hoping to stick with this as the reality of being quite unfit has kicked in. I've never been massively overweight but always hovered around the 16 stone mark without doing loads of exercise, I'm 6ft3 so able to carry it, however I've been on steroids for nearly a year now thanks to a rare condition and have piled it on so now pushing 18 stone, if I can get back to 16st that would be great, but if I could ever get back to my glory days of being nearer 14st that would be amazing.
Going to see how it goes for a week or two and then invest in some proper running shoes if it is suiting me. 10k runs within a year?
DONE IT!!!! Only bloody done it! 5k tonight. Could have done more.
I was struggling for a while. Took my mind of it in june (le mans, very hot evenings etc) and could'nt go past 25mins (which for me was 4km). Even that was a real struggle. Plus I got bored with my route. And Laura. Got tired, got stitches
So I changed a few things. Found a route through some woods which is a circular lap of nearly exactly 1km. So I know I need to do 4 laps to match what I can do. Any more is a bonus.
Dropped Laura. Still has a very sexy voice, but I wanted my own music. Last two times I did four laps. No idea of time, but I do know its 4km with a gentle gradient up and down.
Tonight, on the third lap I realised I felt fine. Out of breath of course, but not tired and no stictches. I wondered if I could do more...
The music helped, and lap 4 I felt Ok. Through the ford chicane, onto the start/finish, up to the dunlop bridge and past the smoking teenagers. Easy loop past Mulsanne and Arnarge, the suddely its the ford chicane again. Lap 5 done. 5k. I'm not a sexual gazelle, but maybe I am a Rollcentre LMP1. Or the LMP2 MG.
I was struggling for a while. Took my mind of it in june (le mans, very hot evenings etc) and could'nt go past 25mins (which for me was 4km). Even that was a real struggle. Plus I got bored with my route. And Laura. Got tired, got stitches
So I changed a few things. Found a route through some woods which is a circular lap of nearly exactly 1km. So I know I need to do 4 laps to match what I can do. Any more is a bonus.
Dropped Laura. Still has a very sexy voice, but I wanted my own music. Last two times I did four laps. No idea of time, but I do know its 4km with a gentle gradient up and down.
Tonight, on the third lap I realised I felt fine. Out of breath of course, but not tired and no stictches. I wondered if I could do more...
The music helped, and lap 4 I felt Ok. Through the ford chicane, onto the start/finish, up to the dunlop bridge and past the smoking teenagers. Easy loop past Mulsanne and Arnarge, the suddely its the ford chicane again. Lap 5 done. 5k. I'm not a sexual gazelle, but maybe I am a Rollcentre LMP1. Or the LMP2 MG.
Same here. I live near a large canal and also a nice wooded area. The upshot bring that I can do a single loop of either 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 .or 12 (for example) along the canal or head into the woods for some variation.
The temptation to stop if I was doing short loops would be too great!
The temptation to stop if I was doing short loops would be too great!
Treadmill, short loops or 1 long loop all have their advantages though, I pulled my calf 7km into a 16km loop and had to walk back, that wasn't pleasant, it started getting dark and I was getting cold..
On treadmill you can have water and not need to carry it, watch telly, and can stop at any time. Short loops you can stop early for an injury, or you can add a loop or 2 if you feel upto it.
best to keep your options open and vary your routes imho
On treadmill you can have water and not need to carry it, watch telly, and can stop at any time. Short loops you can stop early for an injury, or you can add a loop or 2 if you feel upto it.
best to keep your options open and vary your routes imho
williamp said:
DONE IT!!!! Only bloody done it! 5k tonight. Could have done more.
I was struggling for a while. Took my mind of it in june (le mans, very hot evenings etc) and could'nt go past 25mins (which for me was 4km). Even that was a real struggle. Plus I got bored with my route. And Laura. Got tired, got stitches
So I changed a few things. Found a route through some woods which is a circular lap of nearly exactly 1km. So I know I need to do 4 laps to match what I can do. Any more is a bonus.
Dropped Laura. Still has a very sexy voice, but I wanted my own music. Last two times I did four laps. No idea of time, but I do know its 4km with a gentle gradient up and down.
Tonight, on the third lap I realised I felt fine. Out of breath of course, but not tired and no stictches. I wondered if I could do more...
The music helped, and lap 4 I felt Ok. Through the ford chicane, onto the start/finish, up to the dunlop bridge and past the smoking teenagers. Easy loop past Mulsanne and Arnarge, the suddely its the ford chicane again. Lap 5 done. 5k. I'm not a sexual gazelle, but maybe I am a Rollcentre LMP1. Or the LMP2 MG.
Awesome, well done. I was struggling for a while. Took my mind of it in june (le mans, very hot evenings etc) and could'nt go past 25mins (which for me was 4km). Even that was a real struggle. Plus I got bored with my route. And Laura. Got tired, got stitches
So I changed a few things. Found a route through some woods which is a circular lap of nearly exactly 1km. So I know I need to do 4 laps to match what I can do. Any more is a bonus.
Dropped Laura. Still has a very sexy voice, but I wanted my own music. Last two times I did four laps. No idea of time, but I do know its 4km with a gentle gradient up and down.
Tonight, on the third lap I realised I felt fine. Out of breath of course, but not tired and no stictches. I wondered if I could do more...
The music helped, and lap 4 I felt Ok. Through the ford chicane, onto the start/finish, up to the dunlop bridge and past the smoking teenagers. Easy loop past Mulsanne and Arnarge, the suddely its the ford chicane again. Lap 5 done. 5k. I'm not a sexual gazelle, but maybe I am a Rollcentre LMP1. Or the LMP2 MG.
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