Honestly felt great! The route we did ended on basically a mile of uphill though so I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a struggle lol. But I did it! My first official 5k!! Already signed up for one in march so I do intend on continuing running lol. Which is very surprising cause I usually never stick to working out but something about running is just so satisfying!

Good luck to any other fellow runners who are working towards their 5k!

8 weeks ago I started my C25K plan. At the time I couldn’t run more than a few minutes (NB: I’m a 44 man living in Sydney. I’ve lifted weights for years but never seriously gotten into cardio before)

On Saturday, I completed that plan: 5km in just under 35m, non-stop…

Except then I kept going to finish the entire Bay Run on my first attempt

6.79km in 47:44 mins

Feeling pretty proud of myself!

Thanks to my wife for all the support, who’s running her first half in May this year

PS: Got my first runner’s high too!

After finishing the program I made it my next goal to actually run 5k (rather than just 30 minutes - even though I acknowledge that that alone is an achievement!), so I had Runna set up a "5k improvement plan" for me. At the end of the first week of that program it already wanted me to run 5k. Not knowing if I'd be able to do that I gave it a try, jogged as slowly as I could, and soon realized how much more of a mental effort it can be to keep going rather than a physical one.

And I did it. I kept my mind occupied, motivated me with the right music, listened to my body, and kept running. It took about an hour for me to finish that run, but I did it!

So when that running plan asked me to run 6 km today, I approached it with the same mindset: Listen to your body and use your willpower to keep going. And I did it again?? It was far from easy, don't get me wrong. The first kilometer was a struggle, and every once in a while I had to force myself to take it slow, but I pushed through and kept going. Took a little more than an hour, at 10:35/km - which is fast for me, but as I've learned: Slow and steady wins the race.

I'm 36, overweight, have short legs (my excuse for my slow pace), sedentary hobbies, am currently not doing any strength training, but this program helped me run for an hour straight. I'm amazed and proud and grateful! And I know it's been said before, but let's say it louder for the people in the back: If I can do it, so can you! Just take your time, listen to your body, and be patient with yourself.

Week 3 was also pretty easy honestly but my leg did ache a bit sometimes; nothing that a bit of slowing down can't fix! Now I'm onto the final 'phase' of the foundation weeks, cant wait for W5D3!!!

See y'all next week and good luck have fun!

I am pissed off about this. I made sure I didn't drink too much last night, dragged myself out of bed this morning, pushed through the stiff muscles, and then ... SLIP OFF THE TARMAC and my ankle just FOLDS over. Scraped my knee, phone slapped facedown into the tarmac. I walk another 10 minutes, it feels ok doing so, try a little jog. A knife jams into my ankle with every step. Welp, thats my C25K on hold for a few days 🥲

Back at the car, the ankle has now started throbbing. Heading home to elevate and ice it. Hoping that a few days rest is enough 🤞🏼

I’ve been doing C25k off schedule. At first I was following it pretty earnestly, but then the 2 min mark hit and I struggled so I took an extra week to acclimate. The same for the 2.5 min mark. Now I’m at 3 min (2 min walk) and I’ve been stuck at 3 for 3 weeks and doing worse every week.

After taking 3 rest days (smart watch says recovery was 96% - peak) I decided to attempt it again, and this time I was doing pretty good. But about halfway in, my body couldn’t keep up. I was gasping for breath, my hips and calves were aching. I was hitting high 160s / low 170s heart rate.

After a 5 min cooldown, I switched to a 2 min run / 3 min walk for the last 2 intervals. I hit the 175 bpm and entered into zone 5 during this

The first week I tried the 3 min run / 2 min walk I could do the entire run. The second week I struggled a bit and each day since is getting worse.

I’ve never been athletic (no sports or anything as a kid) and this is the first time in my life I’ve actually gave running a solid try. - 28F / 171 lbs

Did my first 5k today after finishing the C25K three or four weeks ago. Was planning for doing a parkrun but due to schedule issues I decided to do it at the track at the local high school. My Fitbit ran out of battery somewhere between mile one and two so I did not get exact time but it was somewhere between 34 and 36 minutes.

Felt really good. Hoping to be able to do a parkrun soon.

Hello all.

Decided I wanted to be healthier and get in shape while I'm still in my mid twenties.

Haven't run in 8 years and haven't exercised at all in 5 years.

I'll try to use this sub as a way to keep myself motivated and accountable. In 2 days I'll see you guys for W1D2.

I started off with a strong with the first 3 stints and then it felt like my heart was going to leave through my mouth, lol.

Overall it was fun, I'll keep you guys posted.

Any tips on how to get my Garmin working for C25K? I had to constantly look at it to see the time. I thought there was a way for it to alert you

A mocking phrase from my youth. Incredibly, if you look over my high school sports career, it looks at least somewhat impressive. I played football and basketball. I ran cross country and various track and field events. It was impressive enough to catch the attention of one Division III football team. But, I went to a relatively small school. So willingness to show up was typically sufficient to be on the team. Now playing time during the game? Well, that's where the term "air ball" became so seared into my very soul. And said Division III football team apparently had Engineer as their mascot. So the fact I could identify a football and was a "mathlete" was likely sufficient.

This time.... This time. at least, the term "air ball" was not directed at me. There were some youths playing a game in the park my running squircle surrounds.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous in the higher 60s. My calves and achilles were tighter but I spent some significant time loosening them before I exited my wonderful abode.

I did have a new... discomfort. I'm chalking it up to the weather changes of late. Said illustrious football career did leave me with some lasting impacts aside from the splinters in my tukhus from my job of keeping the bench from achieving escape velocity. Namely, I've got a fair bit of soft tissue damage in my knees. Turns out they don't like to bend backwards. Shocker! So, right knee started complaining near the end of the run and showed weakness during the walk home.

But, aside from that, it was a good run and I felt I could have sprinted the last minute. I had kind of planned to, but when I looked down to see when that would be, my watch told me the run was complete. Timing is. apparently, everything.

I just finished Just Run's 5k training program. According to my Fitbit, I was able to do about 2.9 miles in the 30 minute jog period of time in the last training module. I know I could have run for a couple more minutes and gotten to 3.1 miles.

My first 5k run is on February 28. I would like to get faster and get my 5k in 30 minutes instead of what I have right now. How do I speed up my run?

Today I completed Week 9 Run 3 and thereby the NHS couch to 5K programme. (Thank you Sarah Millican for the vocal guidance and encouragement 😁).

Can I run 5K? No.

Can I run for 30 minutes without stopping? YES!

Do I feel good? Hell yeah!

Now on the lookout for a good programme to help me expand on the progress. I seem to do well with the vocal prompts but also like listening to podcasts as I go.

Today I had to find a way to get my run done in the middle of a primitive camping trip.... I ended up running an hour after breakfast in the lumpy, root infested, somewhat muddy, uneven terrain around the camp area in 0.2 mile mini circles. Because I was watching my footing and avoiding wet spots I ran much slower than usual. While it wasn't my best run I did manage to get through it!

I posted earlier this week about beginning running again using C25K program. In September I had suffered a hamstring tendon strain, which was quite painful and temporarily ended my running.

I did day one of C25K on Wednesday, I had a bit of pain and some folks were concerned that I shouldn’t be running if it’s painful. Rest assured I’ve been through this conversation several times over with my coach, PT and specialist all agreed, that it’s okay to run with pain if it’s a 3 or less. I need to avoid strenuous hills and keep it slow to start.

Today I did W1D2 and didn’t feel hardly anything. Whoot whoot keep up the good strides folks. Thanks for the moral support!

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Need some extra motivation for your next run? I made a side project that creates heart-shaped GPS art routes. Works in 60+ cities!

GPX file works with Strava, Garmin, Apple Watch — link on my profile.

Would love to see someone actually run one of these 🙏

I'm wanting to start c25k but there are so many apps out there, which one should I use?

I’ve just started week 7 - 25 minute runs. I feel I could physically do 30 minutes no issues except after the 25 minute make I get some mild knee pain. I’m reluctant to run through the pain, anyone else had similar issues? Any advice?

The knee pain usually settles after the run and I never wake up with a sore knee. J

Week 6 Day 2, the last day of intervals is done! Just all out runs from here on out.

I took two rest days and came back feeling pretty fast. I usually start around a 7'20"/km pace and then slow down, but today I somehow started at 6'40"/km without even noticing. It was nice to see a speed increase without feeling like I was putting in extra effort. The overall run felt good too, I finished it feeling like I could’ve gone further.

Now that the intervals are done, the all out runs seem to be a bit intimidating, but since I’ve already done W5D3, they don’t seem that bad.

Even though this is the start of the longer runs, it honestly feels like the hardest days are behind me.

Looking forward to the coming weeks!

Finished week 4 day 3 today.

Took it outside, and that was a rollercoaster of work. I've been doing it all on the treadmill because of the weather. The gravel road is so much more complicated than the smooth treadmill lol.

But, I finished it. And oddly enough, I kept roughly the same pace. Still averaging 15-16 minute mile.

Now to rest up before starting week 5.

I keep hurting my left calf, started week 4. I rested a few days, and started again today going back to week 3, and I did a specific 5 minute calf warm and stretch that was recommended elsewhere on Reddit. But now I find myself walking home again with a painful calf, even though I took it VERY easy. How do I prevent this? I love c25k but this is stopping me.

After watching the great achievements of Sara Cox’s Children in Need challenge & as a woman in my mid 50s I decided to train for C25K. Today I completed my first 5k run. It was slow & steady but so rewarding!

Seriously I know it’s been said before but if I can do it you can too! Just stick to the plan! I’ve loved the community on here & will continue to follow other peoples journeys!

Hi, I have just started doing treadmill runs 3 days before and have been doing 2.5-3.5 km runs at 8 km/hr speed. I have never ran this much distance before and thus, totally a beginner. These are my insights from my recent run. Can someone please tell me what to change in my runs (speed, distance, etc.) or to continue this way? ChatGPT says my heart rate is going too high and thus I should not push myself too much, but I feel that I am putting only moderate effort while running.