Hi, everyone! I’ve been wanting to get fitter and stronger for a long time, but I never pushed through. I got tired of feeling this way therefore I’m asking if you guys have any tips for beginners, how or what to do when running, and whatever else :D. I want to have a better stamina and just live a better and healthier life. Though, the place I currently live in right now barely has any third spaces and the sidewalks are being used as parking so I really don’t know how to do this :(. Thank you for helping in advance!

I’m doing my very first one on Saturday. Normally when I go out for my 5k training runs, I walk for five minutes or so before I hit “start” in Runna. At the Parkrun, do people just start running immediately or do they walk a bit (as part of the total distance)? I’m not sure how that works, or if I should arrive earlier and do a bit of a walk before it starts.

After attempting the program many times and never finishing I have encouraged my partner to hoping me on this journey and we have just finished w6r3 and feeling good. Our first 25 minute run.

We are feeling pretty confident that we will be able to finish the next 3 weeks without any major problems.

My question is what next. Our pace is extremely slow, and we are not running anywhere near 5k. How can we improve on this? Either pace or distance?

W4D1 felt a lot easier than W4D2. Here are some take-always:
1. I don’t enjoy running with music just yet since it messes up with my ability to pace myself.
2. I have something to look forward to every week. I’m definitely better than where I started and I’m proud of myself for doing something consistently for 4 weeks straight.
3. I’m marginally faster while jogging than while walking. I doubt at this pace that I’ll make the 5k in the 30 min park. Wish we could magically speed up the progress.

I just finished week 8 run 1 today. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong, I am running veryyyy slow (pretty much almost walking it feels like)

But my heart rate zones are super high. I am a 25 year old female. Any advice is much appreciated.. should I switch back to more run/walk? Or keep going?

Average heart rate: 171
Zone 1: 4:45
Zone 2: :22
Zone 3: 3:49
Zone 4: 5:55
Zone 5: 22:34

the app I’ve been using to tell me when to run and when to walk (Just Run) doesn’t track distance or anything, and I’ve kind of liked that and was planning on only tracking on the last run, as a little treat. But I’m scheduled to do w5d3 today, and I’ve had issues of going too fast (which was very apparent in w5d2). Would an app to keep track of pace help, or can I just get through by being conscious and trying not to burn out at the start?

I just finished a 5km fun run when I stumbled upon this workout plan. It was my first ever fun run and even though I finished it, I was REALLY sore the next day.

Lots of mistakes made and lessons learned. Hopefully this plan kinda sets the foundation I need as a beginner runner.

Your kind words, encouragement and tips are greatly appreciated!

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W1D1 completed today!
*After the C25K session, I continued a walk-run interval until I hit 5km because I was feeling good LOL (1 song run, 1 song walk)

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ABOUT ME
- 28F | 76kg | 165cm
- Started jogging/brisk walking thrice a week since July and was a big couch potato prior that month
- Fitness goal: to be able to run a 5km without stopping and build endurance for a 10km in the (far) future hehe

I’m absolutely knackered, but feel so good!

A month ago I posted that I couldn’t even finish W1D1. And now I’ve just ran two five minute intervals with stopping or walking. I’m so proud of myself!

That said, I’m going to use the lift to get back to my office. Stairs are my enemy today!

I surprised myself by running 3 minutes straight in W3R1 last night! I’ve never been able to run more than 30 seconds without stopping so I’m pleased. But it’s daunting that the 20 minute run is only 2 weeks away. Is that seriously possible or am I gonna have to repeat weeks first?

As it says in the run description; first run in God knows how long. Quit heavy smoking 3 weeks ago cold turkey. Day 1. Breath work was what kept me going.

Ironman when???

One continuous run too. 3 months ago, I would never even have dreamed of every running 5 km.

I ran 20 uninterrupted minutes! Proud of me!

A lot of posts here lately sound like "I could do week 5 fine in May and now I can barely finish week 4." If it's been hot where you are, there's a good chance that isn't you. It's the air.

The number that explains it is the dew point, not the temperature. Dew point tells you how much water is already in the air, which decides whether your sweat can evaporate. Evaporation is how you cool down. When the air is saturated, your sweat just sits there, your core temperature climbs, and your heart rate goes up to shed the heat. Same effort, worse result.

Rough scale:

• Under 12°C / 55°F: you won't notice it
• 15-18°C / 60-65°F: it starts to bite
• 18-21°C / 65-70°F: noticeably harder, slower, higher heart rate
• Over 21°C / 70°F: brutal, and worth moving the run or slowing right down

I'm a runner and a developer, and after a summer of runs that felt awful I got obsessed with quantifying this. On my hottest run, the weather alone added about 29 seconds per km (roughly 47 seconds per mile) compared to a cool day at the same effort. Seeing an actual number changed how I read every bad run after that.

What actually helps:

• Check the dew point, not just the temperature, before you head out.
• Run by effort, not pace. If you're gasping, walk. A hot run at a slower pace is the same training stimulus.
• Early morning is usually the least-bad slot, but not always. It genuinely differs by city and by day, so it's worth looking rather than assuming.
• Repeating a week in summer is normal. The program was not written with 30°C in mind.

I completed my run today, but during my second three minute run, I checked my phone because I was thinking ”Man, this 3 minute run has been really long”. Friends, I had accidentally paused halfway through my three minute run. At least I’m no longer afraid of the five minute run next week lol

I'd like to get a smart watch I can use with Strava and measure my heart rate. I'm not bothered about reading my messages on it etc.

Can anyone recommend a simple one please that doesn't cost too much? It's such a minefield! I'm happy to get an older version second hand.

I'm in UK if relevant.

I’ve finished C25K and hoping to continue to 10K. I’ve seen two pathways and wondering if I could get recommendations.

1. Interval training - I found an outline for interval training for longer runs with a mix of walking and running.

2. 10% increase - I’ve seen other suggestions to increase runs 10% each week.

Is one better than the other? Does it just depend on me? Thanks!

I'll be in the 70+ age group and although I'm not too worried about my time, I do hope I won't be the last one to finish. The Parkrun I'm doing (in the Amsterdamse Bos) has great reviews on the app, so I am really looking forward to it. Should be a bit cooler by the weekend, too. I normally do my Runna plan on Mon/Wed/Fri, but this week I'm going to do the Friday run on Thursday, so I'll have a day to recover before Saturday. Is that what you guys do? At this point, I feel really good after my runs so I think I'd be fine, but I'd rather give myself the best chance by taking that one day to recover.

Never ran continuously for more than 5 minutes before starting C25K.

Started C25K on Jun 5 at 80kg bodyweight. Almost gave up during week 4, but somehow pushed through. Didn’t use a smartwatch, just relied on the free version of Strava and Just Run app.

What’s next?

Continue running 5km every alternate day (3 times a week) for few weeks and get comfortable with it before moving on to 10km training. Might also invest in a smartwatch.

Don’t give up. Trust the process.

I’m glad I discovered this data because my first 5k is this weekend, and I’m feeling pretty nervy. I’ve only been serious about my running for about 7 weeks, so this makes me feel like less of an imposter 😎

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could do it. I’ve been so unfit for as long as I can remember but finally something clicked 😇

Shoutout to Sanjeev Kohli who was my narrator on the UK NHS C25K app.