Ariel Detonation

Congrats on finishing!! I've been doing a bit if research on increasing speed and most of what I've read suggests that the best way to increase speed for newer runners is to increase the distances that you run at a steady pace. That way you can push a bit harder on the shorter distance for a race. The runner's world website is great for tips and tricks

Thanks Tara! I've not updated in a bit, but I have been sticking to the running! I have completed Week 6, and I finally smashed my first goal of a sub-40 5k today! I took one walking break of about 1-2 minutes at 2.5k, running the rest of the way and finished in 38:53! The next goal is to complete it in 37 minutes (an average pace of ~12min/mile). The plan of attack for next week's 5k is to take the short walking break at 3.5k. Onto week 7 starting Monday, it just amazes me to no end that I have made it through 6 weeks of training and there are only 2 weeks left to "graduation"!

What an amazing story! I love reading success stories, and your's is awesome, thank you so much for sharing! I have 2 weeks left to go on the C25K app, and I'm considering continuing on to the 10k app once I've "graduated". I've gone from a massive dislike of running to really enjoying it and looking forward to my next run.

I just finished week 5, and I did my weekly 5k (which is normally done with the intervals for the week I just finished) today. I ran the entire 5k with no walking breaks!! The last 1k wasn't fast and the last 500m weren't pretty, but I did it!! 42 minutes and 5 seconds of nonstop running! Crossing that finish line today was the most amazing feeling, knowing that I did it all, I actually ran a 5k.

Sooo.... I did it!!! 20 minutes running, without walking! We would have kept going, except we got a bit lost and needed to check the GPS to see how to get back to where we started lol. That felt absolutely amazing, if you would have told me 6 weeks ago that I would be running for 20 minutes straight there is no way that I would have believed you! The stats from strava were inspiring too, we did 1k in 5:55 and 1 mile in 10:05! My weekly 5k is tomorrow morning, and the 2 friends that I ran with today are coming with me, as well as my 2 older kids and boyfriend. Bring on that sub-40 time!!

Gah!!! 20 minutes non-stop?!?! I'm over 1/2 way through the C25K program, and I can't actually believe that I made it this far!! When I started out I was covering 2.0 - 2.1 miles on a flat field in the half hour sessions, now I'm covering 2.6 miles including hill running. For today's run (I never thought I would make it to W5D3!) I have enlisted some of my friends to come out with me this evening. We are going to do a nice long warm-up with some intervals thrown in up a steep 1/2 mile path up a large hill, taking a few minutes to take in the gorgeous 360 degree views, then starting the 20 minute run down the gentle sloping path on the other side and then around a slightly hilly path at the bottom. Wish me luck, I'll report back when I finish!

Anything is possible! Just remember, any day that you get out there, you are lapping everyone that's sat on the couch! Keep it up, its surprising how quickly the weeks go by, and how much you are capable of.

Welcome! Modern technology is a fantastic enabler for getting and keeping fit. I love Strava for tracking my running (and I think that it might sync with fitbit, not too sure as I run it as a GPS tracker on my runs). Best of luck, you got this!!!

Getting your metabolism going, and keeping it steady throughout the day will help. Try to eat breakfast within half an hour of waking up, and try eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals. Also tracking what you eat is a big help, I use MyFitnessPal, and found it extremely helpful.

That's fantastic!!! Way to go you!! I'm just starting Week 5 today, and you sir, are my inspiration!

So I didn't get my sub-40 time, but I did smash my personal best by 1:47 (and my first time by 4:50)!! I ran intervals of 4 minutes with walking for 1 minute 45 seconds, and ran the 300 metres or so which should have been a walk, but the end was so close I just continued running. The official time was 40:45 Next week I'll be repeating Week 4 on my hill run until I can complete the first 5 minute interval (the uphill bit) before moving onto Week 5. Although, I think that Week 5 Day 3 is going to be ran in my little flat field lol!

Congrats on completing week 1!! Running is great for stress relief. Keep up the good work!

Today's W4D3 run was AMAZING! I am on such a buzz after it! I ran the woodland trail that I mapped out yesterday, and boy was that a steep incline on the way out. Strava (a running and cycling gps app that has amazing analytics) showed that it was a 6% incline! I only managed to run 4:30 of the first 5 minute interval, as it was on the steepest bit. However, on the way back down I was feeling awesome and when the voice prompt said 1 minute left, I figured I would just keep running until I couldn't. I managed to comfortably run the entire cool down plus a bit until I got back to my starting point!! That was an entire mile that I ran, non stop. I've decided to repeat week 4 on this hill route next week before moving on to week 5, but I gotta say, I love woodland running!! Tomorrow is the 5k parkrun, and again I'm aiming for a sub-40 time

Awesome! Welcome to the forums, keep at it and keep us posted on your progress

So, W4D2 was yesterday and because I had an ill kid home from school I couldn't go out to the forest to run as I had planned. So instead, it was a crap run (literally), I started running in my little field, but they had started to muck the bottom end with pig manure, so I ended up running through it (it was dried, so not as gross as it sounds). I grew up on a pig farm, so it didn't really bother me all that much until the tractor came into the field to spread more half way through my run. I didn't really feel like a crap shower, so I ran my short little legs off to find the gap in the hedge to escape lol! I didn't want to give up half way through, so even though my knees don't agree with road running, I gave it a go until I got to a grassed area in the village, completed my run on that, and walked back on the sidewalk for my cool down. Today, a couple of friends and I met up with our dogs to do the 7.5k hill hike that I did last week, and we had a blast! I've also mapped out a section of the hike that's about 2k and on a slight incline to run an out and back route for W4D3 tomorrow.

Completed W4D1 this morning, and to my surprise the first 5 minute segment wasn't all that bad, the second 5 minutes were tough, but I did it! I want a bit of a change from my little field, so tomorrow, I'm going out to run the 5k circuit that I run on Saturdays, but running for 4 minutes and walking for 2. My knee is starting to ease up now, it still twinges but no where near what is was like when it started

Congrats on getting out there, and for persisting with the specialists so they would help you meet your goals! If you find the treadmill not to your liking (I am not a treadmill person, I love the outdoors too much) you could do an "out and back" route. You made it to 18 minutes, so on your next day choose a direction, walk for 9 minutes and then turn around and head back. Once you're comfortable with 18 minutes, walk for 9 1\2 or 10 minutes out and turn back. And then keep building it that way. Best of luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

May be exercise induced asthma?

Congrats on completing week 1! DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is completely normal, I've practiced roller derby (a full contact, high intensity sport) over the past 2 1\2 years for 3 hours on a Sunday evening, and my muscles don't start aching until Monday afternoon, usually around 3:00pm.

I did the 5k again today, but my interval timer kept crashing on the run intervals, so my first two running intervals were about 4 minutes long before I realised it had crashed and reset it lol! My finishing time was 41:57 . Still not sub-40, but it's getting there! On to week 4 starting Tuesday, which looks quite daunting, what with the 5 minute run intervals, but I am determined! I've found a local running club that does off-road runs on a Wednesday evening in the summer. As a guideline for joining in they suggest being able to run/jog 3k without stopping. So, once I complete week 5 I'm thinking of heading down and seeing what it's like

*BSD = bad

You're doing great, keep it up! My knee's still troublesome, but it isn't too bad, just hurts when I turn my foot a certain way, but its not too BSD for running, as long as I'm not running on pavement or stairs circuits. I finished week three today, and gotta admit, week for does look scary, but we can do it!!

Well that's week 3 in the bag! I completed day 3 this morning, but it was tough, my feet felt like they had lead weights tied to them, and they've just cut the field I run in for hay so it was really difficult to see the footpath in places. Although looking at the stats from MapMyFitness boosted my mood about the run as today was my quickest pace for this week. I think some of why my feet felt heavy was the 7.5k hike that my boyfriend, dog and I went on yesterday with a gain of 240 meters (twice because we went up the hill and back down twice on the route we took). It was an awesome hike with gorgeous views, and the boyfriend struggled to keep up with me up the steep inclines, YAY for learning to breathe correctly with running! 5k tomorrow with my two oldest boys and a couple of friends. I'm planning on setting my interval timer for 2 minutes running and 90 seconds walking, and hope to get a sub-40 time

Welcome, Deb! Best of luck with day 1, just keep putting one foot infront of the other and let us know how you get on

Not so sure about mentally strong, more like stubborn lol! I do a mix of running with friends and by myself. My boyfriend and 2 oldest boys run the 5k me, but the kids are WAY in front (ah, to be 13 again!), and my boyfriend starts out way too fast and I end up passing him at about 2.5k (i.e. the tortoise and the hare). I go running with some of my friends too, but most of them are a heck of a lot fitter than I am, although I'm not trailing behind as much as I keep doing this training. I like the mix of alone runs and social runs, when I'm by myself I just crank up the tunes and get moving! Yorkshire is beautiful too, and I am in love with the lake district, I would love to move up that way sometime, but there isn't much work that way as a scientist since its so rural. Maybe in 35 years when I retire lol!