A New Beginning

The Couch to 5k in 9 weeks running program

C25K, is a fantastic program that's been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks.

Exercise is labor without weariness.
Samuel Johnson
 
I tried taking up running a couple of years ago but being naive I just went straight into running, no warm up or walking first. This I found was a big mistake. Within weeks I'd hurt my knees from running on concrete. So I gave it up, I was so disapointd as I do like running and keeping fit. I had joined a site recently and heard a lot of talk about the C25K programme. I hadn't a clue what this was so I googled it and discovered an amazing programme. I downloaded several C25K apps onto my iPhone but I preferred the app featured in the link I have put on my wall for you to look at. Of course it's your choice which you go for but for me personally I like this one. I then chose the music to run too. I downloaded some Trance music from itunes. It has a good beat to it and certainly gets those feet running and the heart pounding. Of course there are lots of pod casts also for running you can download. It's up to you what you choose to run too.

I started my C25k programme 06/03/11. I thought this is amazing, here is me a 57 year old woman who hasn't run really since I was at school in the 1960's. I bought myself some running gear and I was off. 

One thing that is a must for us ladies is a good training bra. Believe me we need one. No matter how small or large it will be a good investment. I have two training bra's both the same in different colours. They are Nike and with a little padding. They are a good bra, I've had others but none that hold me as good as these.

• Week 1 Day 1 which was a brisk five minute warm up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Then a 5 minute cool down walk. The following day was a rest day.

• Week 1 Day 2 came next which was the same intervals as day 1. The following day was a rest day.

• Week 1 Day 3 again was the same as Day 1. Followed by a rest day.

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.
Paul Dudley White

I felt great, I was really pleased with myself that I could actually do this. I always do a warm up before I start any exercise even stretching. You need to get the blood flowing freely so it can reach it's maximum level. An increase in the blood supply makes your muscles warm more pliable therefore reducing the risk of injur

Regular stretching before exercise makes you more flexible. Studies have shown that flexibility is a key factor in fitness, even more so than weight and waistlines. Regular stretching improves the overall tone of your body but it does not in any way work towards reducing weight or burning fat.

Read more about The Importance of Stretching before Exercising by 24 Hr Fitness

Regular stretching before exercise makes you more flexible. Studies have shown that flexibility is a key factor in fitness, even more so than weight and waistlines. Regular stretching improves the overall tone of your body but it does not in any way work towards reducing weight or burning fat.

Read more about The Importance of Stretching before Exercising by 24 Hr Fitness

• Regular stretching before exercise makes you more flexible. Studies have shown that flexibility is a key factor in fitness, even more so than weight and waistlines. Regular stretching improves the overall tone of your body but it does not in any way work towards reducing weight or b

Things are going great, loving it. The fact that I am able to do this programme is a great boost to the mentality. I have started to drink tons more water since I started and that's got to be good as usually I don't drink any water. Trainers say you should talk to a nutritionist to calculate your water needs depending on the characteristics of your body. In principle, it seems that if you sleep 8 hours a night - so you spend 16 hours awake – it would be ideal to drink a glass of water every hour. The simplest method would be to keep a flask of 1 gallon of water which you drink, and you write down to the end of the day how much water you need. You need to drum mark. Then, if you manage to drink all the water that means you've satisfied your "hydration needs" for that day. DRINK WATER!!

By now you can see there is a pattern.

Exercise is done against one's wishes and maintained only because the alternative is worse.
George A. Sheehan




All was going well until I hit the end of week three. I began feeling pain in my knees. I thought at first I hadn't stretched enough or drank enough water so I made sure I did plenty of stretching both before and after my run. This was not the case. I guess it's because running on concrete being high impact running was doing my joints no favours.

I decided to give it a rest, which I did. I continued walking until I felt perhaps it's time to give it another shot. So this morning 04/04/11 I got up nice and early, put on my HRM and off I went. I started right back on Week 1 Day 1. It was a good run and I felt elated that there was no pain in my knees at all. Whats more I found that it was easier the second time around.

I decided to look at joining a gym so that I could use a treadmill to do my C25K therefore not injuring my joints. I emailed two of my local gyms for prices and found that it would cost at least £400 for a years subscription. My husband said rather than do that if I wanted to he would buy a treadmill for the home. So this what we decided to do. I went on Amazon and choose a treadmill which should arrive Friday 8th April. Looking forward to giving it a go. It's got to be easier on the joints. I downloaded the C25K for the treadmill and will begin this programme when my treadmill arrives. I don't want to give up running outside as I love being out in the fresh air, so I may do the odd run outside.

Attention to health is life greatest hindrance.

Plato

Branx Fitness Treadmill

Todays the big day! MY TREADMILL ARRIVES!!! I'm so looking forward to giving this a go.

• Week 3 Day 1 Hmm not too bad! The 90 second jog was a doddle. Then walked for 90 seconds, Next came the 3 minute run,when I was jogging on concrete on my first Week 3, I found this really hard but I was fine. Then I repeated the intervals.When it came to the last run I thought oh my will I be able to do it, I was amazed how easy I found it. I finished off with the usual 5 minute cool down walk. I felt amazing, I'd done it and burned 304 calories. tomorrow is a rest day but intend to do a walk. Oh and by the way, this was my first time on a treadmill and I've got to confess there were a couple of times I nearly flew off the end. I DID  wear the safety key but luckily I managed to get my legs running a little faster and didn't quite go off the treadmill. Lol x

  Today (9th April) is a rest day from C25K but still decided to get a walk in. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill at a very fast pace. Sweat was pouring down my face and was so glad when my hubby brought me a bottle of water. MUST remember to have one handy next time! I burned 299 calories so I guess that's good.I did a good 10 minutes of stretches afterwards to lesson any damage.


Hmmm.....feeling a bit energetic so going to do some Pilates with my resistance bands. Will give it half an hour concentrating on my abs and legs. Doesn't particularly burn many calories but I need to do some abdominal exercises to pull that belly in. What I like about using the resistance band is. I do suffer with my back quite a lot and using the resistance bands somehow helps when I need to pull myself up or lower myself backwards. 

• Week 3 Day 2 Treadmill on (yes)...Water bottle full (yes)...C25K app on (yes)..music on...(yes) here we go!! Managed to to all the intervals but the last 3 minute run almost got to me, but I forced myself on to do it. I wasn't going to give up that easily. Still can't believe the difference from running outside. I did enjoy it so much better than the first time I did week 3 outside. I burned 296 Calories .. Average HR 121...Max HR 165.

Monday 11th April was a rest day from C25k so I did my walk.  I set the treadmill for 30 minutes and run at a very fast pace. I drank a full bottle of water which is unusual for me as I hate water, but boy did I need it. I burned 157 calories...Average HR 131..Max HR 157

• Week 3 Day 3 I manged to get through the intervals but only just. Running for 3 mins is hard. I think I push myself too hard though. When I get onto week 4 I think I may have to run at a slower pace. I burned 219 calories.Average HR 133..Max HR 150

Believe you can and you're halfway there.
Theodore Roosevelt

Next on the agenda is Week 4....heaven help me!!!! It means I've got to run for intervals of 3 minutes and 5 minutes ...aaaargh!!!

• Week 4 Day 1 I was so dreading this workout but to be honest with you, I found this the easiest by far. Don't know if this is because I'm getting fitter or what. I never ever thought when I started this programme that I would get this far, only ever hoped I would. Here is me running for 3 minutes plus 5 minutes. I even amaze myself. BIG pat on the back Katybun!! BRING ON WEEK 4 DAY 2!! Calories burned 245..Average HR 75....Max HR...85

Today is my walk day on the treadmill. Got up early and decided to get it over and done with. I set off at  a good steady pace 3.72 miles per hour and increased it to 5.00 miles per hour. Found I couldn't maintain this so dropped it to 4.5 miles per hour. I could maintain this so continued. It was tough but I was determined to do it. I burned 256 calories..Average HR 139...Max HR 153...HAPPY!!!!

• Week 4 Day 2 Ok I'm looking forward to this so lets get on with it. As usual I did the 5 minute warm up walk. Followed by jog 3 mins - walk 90 secs - jog 5  mins - walk 21/2 mins - jog 3 mins - walk 90 secs - jog 5 mins - followed by 5 min cool down walk. Boy was this tough but I did it with the help of a huge fan blowing onto me. I drank 4 glasses of water on the walk intervals. Calories burned 257...Average HR 75...Max HR 85 

Today was my walk day. I decided to up my pace a little so for a change I did 5 minute warm up walk followed by 30 secs jog then 30 sec walk for 30 mins followed by a 5 min cool down walk. This is a good way to really get those calories burned off. I was happy burning 366 calories. Average HR 141...Max HR 152

• Week 4 Day 3 Last of week for coming up. The intervals were the same as day 1 and day 2. Found it a little hard on the last run but pushed myself through it. I feel such a sense of achievement doing this so I will soldier on. Calories burned 233...Average HR 70...Max HR 79...a little lower than normal but that's because I dragged my feet a little.

• Week 5 Day 1 Ok I didn't do my walk last night as I went to Zumba so lets go straight for the kill on week 5. Started as usual with the 5 minute warm up walk. Followed by jog 3 minutes - walk 3 minutes - jog 5 minutes - walk 3 minutes - jog 5 minutes...finishing with the 5 minute cool down walk. Calories burned 247...Average HR 73...Max HR 84

I thought I'd step up the pace again for my walk. I did my 5 minute warm up and then went straight to 30 second intervals of jogging and walking. Boy does this get the heart rate up. I burned 240 calories. Average HR...118...Max HR...145. I do like to do this 30 second interval workout as it's easy to maintain but burns lots of calories.

• Week 5 Day 1 I decided to do this again as I didn't feel I was ready to go on to day 2. I burned 242 calories...Average HR 127...Max HR 150 calories.

Today I did my usual 30 second walk/jog intervals. I learned how to do this by watching a video on youtube and it is a great consept for burning calories.I did 32 minutes, burned 240 calories...Average HR 118...Max HR 145

• Week 5 Day 2 I'm loving this now. Brisk 5 minute warm up walk followed by Jog 8 minutes - walk 5 minutes - Jog 8 minutes - followed by 5 minutes col down walk. Burned 252 calories. Average HR 134...Max HR 152.  What was I scared of? Didn't think I could do 8 minutes jog but it wasn't that bad.

Another walk day. I did 33 minutes today. Burned 224 calories. Average HR 130...Max HR 139. Went a little slower today as my legs were a little achy but hey I'm not doing bad.

• Week 5 Day 3 I made it to the end of week 5, never thought I would.Here I go....Brisk 5 minute warm up walk followed by 20 minutes jogging....arrgh finishing with 5 minute cool down walk. I burned 225 calories. Average HR 129...Max HR 145. I am amazed at myself for getting this far. Well done Janet!!!!

Feeling tired today but still managed to get my walk in. I just did my walk for 33 minutes. I managed to burn 225 calories. Average HR 129...Max HR 145.

I've almost become tuned in to do some kind of exercise each day since I started on my exercise journey. Once you see some kind of result and you start logging it almost becomes obsessive.


The real key though is to log everything, food water, exercise. Once you get the hang of it it's simple. Believe me it works.


I find that I now look all the nutritional info before I buy anything. If it's high in sugar. I DON'T buy it! Simple as that!!

•  Week 6 Day 1 Wow here goes.I am actually amazed that as the weeks progress it is getting easier. I honestly never thought I would be here six weeks ago. Today was actually a little easier. I did a brisk 5 minute warm up walk followed by jog 5 minutes - walk 3 minutes - jog 8 minutes - walk 3 minutes - jog 5 minutes - finishing with 5 minutes cool down walk.I burned 247 calories. Average HR 134...Max HR 154. I amaze myself. 

I woke early this morning, it was a beautiful sunny day so I thought I'd get my run in early. I couldn't get to my treadmill as my hubby is painting out the garage and it is stuck in a corner so I decided to take my run outside today. I donned my running gear and I hit the streets. I did two reps of the area around where I live. I burned 208 calories. Average HR 128...Max HR 137. I was Happy with that. I used an app called "i Map my Run" wasn't too impressed with the calories it said I'd used a mere 104, half what my HRM tells me I guess I'll believe my HRM......but it's good for mapping your route, so I guess it has its uses. Here's the map of my route that I did this morning. Twice round it is 1.9 miles in total.

• Week 6 Day 2 Todays workout was a 5 minute warm up walk followed by a 10 minute jog. Followed by a 3 minute walk. Then another 10 minute jog, finishing with a 5 minute cool down walk. What I have found is that if I run with a smaller and quicker step it somehow seems  easier. I got through this set of intervals rather easy to my surprise. I burned 247 calories. Average HR 132...Max HR 147. Not looking forward to day 3 as its a 25 minute jog. Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it.

• Week 6 Day 3 Here we go! Brisk 5 minute warm up walk, followed by 25 minutes jogging with no walking (aaargh). Finish with a 5 minute cool down walk. I burned 274 calories. Average HR 133...Max HR 150. Surprisingly it wasn't too bad. I thought I would be dead on my knees but I was ok with running for 25 minutes.

I decided today to do my walk outside. I enjoyed it very much. I did two rounds of the block and burned 185 calories. Average HR 118... Max HR 129. Nothing to shout about but I'm happy.

• Week 7 Day 1 Who'd of thought I'd make this far? Here goes...This workout is the same as Week 6 Day 3, so I found it ok again. The added difference is though that I purchased a personal DVD player and watched The Royle Family while doing my workout. It helped pass the time and I wasn't watching the clock so much. I burned 278 calories. Average HR 134...Max HR 152. HAPPY!!

I was feeling particularly energetic tonight so I thought I'd go for a walk even though earlier I'd done my Week 7 Day 1 of C25K. So off I went for a walk. It was a lovely evening. I went across the foot bridge that leads into the fields. There wasn't a soul about.  I was donning my new Garmin Forerunner 305, I have got alot to learn about this watch. You can do a lot more with it than the FR60. It has GPS and tons of different modes to change to. I have a lot of reading on this one. I have to admit I'm a bit of a tehno freak. Anyway back to my walk/jog. I was in heaven, the birds were twittering and I could hear owls hooting. I put on my Trance music on my iPhone and I was off. I jogged a little and then walked, just pleased myself. Nothing strenuous while I was enjoying the views of open fields. I was walking down a  track and got as far as the Driffield Road and then turned back. I was alone and enjoying it. I did keep looking behind me in case of any being strangers around. Locals often walk their dogs here, but I was perfectly safe. I burned 147 calories. Average HR 137...Max HR 161...Average speed 3.8 mph...Average moving speed 4.0 mph...Max speed 6.6 mph...Distance 1.87 miles...Time 29.47 mins

Found out after I'd bought this that it doesn't log your calories when indoors, so I've ordered the footpod from Amazon. Crafty or what!!

Rain was looking imminent so I did my walk on the treadmill. Put a dvd on and began my walk. Didn't push it tonight as I was tired already after a busy day but still burned 204 calories. Average HR 130...Max 139

• Week 7 Day 2 Wasn't feeling it tonight. I'd had a busy day at work so my legs were already tired, but I did my run regardless. I burned 278 calories. Average HR 134...Max HR 148. Down on my numbers slightly but that's all I could muster out of my wery legs.

No walking as I'm going to Zumba class, but then it's Week 7 Day 3... woohoo nearly there!

• Week 7 Day 3 Had a couple of days off exercise until today. Wow what a difference it made! I got through this workout with ease. Although my new HRM is telling me I have burned less calories than when I used my old HRM. I am assured that is because my body is geting fitter. YAYYY! Anyway I burned 163 calories. Average HR 145...Max HR 160...Distance 2.29 miles (according to HRM)

I've entered myself into the *Race for Life* in July. Race for Life is the largest women-only fundraising event for Cancer Research in the UK. Since 1994, women of all ages and fitness levels across the UK have come together at these inspiring events to walk, jog or run to help beat cancer. So for the event I have bought a new pair of running shoes. By the time the race is due I will be ready as I will have completed the C25K programme. Without this programme I guess I would have had to walk it. But I'm going to RUN!! Well at least I'm going to give it my best shot! BRING IT ON!

I was wondering why I had started burning less calories doing the same exercise. I googled the question and this is the result I got.


You are still burning calories. However, your body is getting more efficient at what you are doing and you'll be burning less over time. Try switching it up with your resistance levels, or doing short hard sprints to keep your body working at a good pace. Even if you stick on the same equipment, you can give yourself a very different exercise experience.So I guess I'm going to do my 30 second walk/jog intervals in between my runs. I know this burns a lot more calories. This will give my body that different exercise pattern it obviously needs right now.

• Week 8 Day 1 Thought I'd push forward and start week 8 a day early. Hope my legs hold out! Finished this workout and yes my legs were aching but hey I made it. I burned 155 calories a little less than week 7 (Hmmm?) Average HR 146...Max HR 159

• Week 8 day 2 Water bottle full...check...Fan on full...check...Treadmill running...check...c25k app turned on...check...here I go. O.M.G my legs are really tired tonight. Towards the last 8 minutes I was beginning to tire , I had to slow down slightly for a water break. I managed to get some energy from somewhere to step it up again. I managed to finish the programme. Then I dived in the shower, boy did I need it. I burned 167 calories...Average HR 143...Max HR 154 

• Week 8 day 3 O.M.G Tonights workout felt amazing. I don't know what happened but I felt so energized. When the person on my app said I was half way through I said to myself "No Way!" I felt that I could have gone on and on....I honestly believe that doing the 30 second Jog/Run intervals on my days off as helped. It certainly prepares you for the long haul. I burned 303 calories...Average HR 139...Max HR 159

Bring on week 9 so I can get into the 10K with my running buddy Netty who has kindly accepted my offer to do this together....THANKS NETTY!!

• Week 9 Day 1 I thought I would push myself into week 9 a little early. I felt I had the energy so why not. I burned 168 calories. Average HR 144...Max HR 159. Again I managed to up my pace in the cool down walk towards the end. For some reason my Garmin 350 shows that I burn less calories than my Garmin F60 which I used on my previous run. I don't really care which is correct so long as I get through this.  I may need to look at my settings!  

• Week 9 day 2 Decided to crack on with this while I'm feeling like I have the energy to do it. I managed to get through this "Just" as I hadn't had a rest day but I did it and that's all that matters. I burned 330 calories using my Garmin F60. Average HR 141...Max Hr 155  

•  Week 9 Day 3 Here I am. I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd make it this far! I burned 305 calories. Average HR 137...Max HR 151   

I've made it!!! Next is my graduation run. Yay me!!

                                                                                           

Graduation Run!!

Go Janet..Go Janet....believe me this was the best run so far. Only because it was my last. I was elated to be doing it. After all I never thought I'd make it. I burned 300 calories. Average HR 136...Max HR 147

Now for the 10K....O.M.G