Couch to 5k

Self-monitoring is hard

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 20:45:31 GMT

Posted by: liv

So I tried week 3 a second time, and didn't at all think I was going particularly slowly, or struggling, but I ended up with a pace of 9'24'' /km instead of the 8'47'' I'd managed two days before. I know one shouldn't over-analyse, but that one threw me for a loop, not because I'm upset that I had a slow run, but because I lost all confidence in my ability to judge how fast I'm going.

The next time I went out, I decided to do something different. I ran 1 km continuously (conveniently the distance from my house to my boyfriend's house), and then stopped to have a cup of tea with BF and ran the 1 km back. Just over 10 minutes each way, but that's the first time since I restarted running that I've actually managed a continuous kilometre at all, so I'm quite pleased with that. Also I expect I'll be at least a bit faster when it's not 30 degrees and humid.

Today we had Actual! Clouds! and I ran week 3, plus a third repeat of the 90 seconds + 3 minutes pattern, at a pace of 8'31'' /km. I am not surprised that I went a bit faster in the cooler weather, but I didn't think I was at anything like the fastest pace I've recorded in a month. So apparently I can not begin to tell the difference between an 8½ minute average pace and a 9½ minute average pace, but at least I'm picking up speed again.

This means I'm done with with the very short sprint intervals, and I move on to Week 4. I am a bit nervous about only getting 90 seconds of rest; I usually find I don't really recover in 90 seconds. If it's too hard for me I might extend the walking intervals somewhat.

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Week 3: 8'47'' /km

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 16:17:43 GMT

Posted by: liv

The heatwave continues but if I don't run when it's hot I never will. I went out with jack again, and I had my first try at Week 3. I took things reasonably easy, and was slightly slower than my week 2 runs but also didn't feel exhausted at any point. I'll see if I can manage a little bit faster next time.

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Week 3 day 3

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:55:43 GMT

Posted by: liv

Total running fail in the past almost two weeks. One of the days I couldn't run I managed to follow rmc28's good example and went for a nice brisk energetic walk instead. I didn't track it, but I walked for about an hour and I'm fairly sure over 5 km. Apart from that, nada.

Today I had another go at week 3, and managed to complete all the 10 kph intervals. The second long one was a struggle, so instead of giving up I held on to the front of the treadmill, so I count that as a win. I think next time I'll try something in between week 3 and week 4, so alternating intervals of 3 minutes running and 3 minutes walking.

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Struggling

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 21:18:11 GMT

Posted by: liv

I had a go at week 4 on Thursday and, not even slightly. I just about managed 3 minutes at 10 kph, and then I was in no way recovered in the 90 seconds walking break. So I thought, ok, week 4 is too hard, I'll try alternating 3 minutes running and 3 minutes walking four times, cos that's about half way between week 3 and week 4. But by the end of 3 minutes walking I was still really struggling for breath, and pretty close to full-on asthma, so I gave up at that point. I am not sure if there's any specific reason why I managed 3 minutes before but couldn't on Thursday, I suspect it may have been that the 5 minute walk wasn't enough of a warmup to attempt something right at the limit of my ability.

So today I dropped back to week 3 and... didn't manage to complete that either. I did 90 seconds, 3 minutes, 90 seconds and just gave up halfway through the second three minute interval. Maybe I could have completed it and just ran out of willpower, I'm not sure. Again, I felt like I was close to asthma so I think I was probably right to stop short. So I'll keep doing week 3 until I can properly manage it with the running intervals at 10 kph.

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Week 3, day 3

Sun, 30 Nov 2014 22:12:38 GMT

Posted by: rmc28

I actually did this yesterday evening, but I've been busy since then. The trouble with "after we go out for the morning" is that it turned into "after supper" which meant it was dark and cold. Luckily my neighbourhood streets are well-enough lit and friendly enough, and I found the run pleasant going. RunKeeper thinks my pace was the slowest yet, but slow and done is better than fast and flaked out early.

I wore my "highly visible fashion disaster" outfit: fluorescent greeny-yellow top, fluorescent orange head covering and socks, pale leggings, yellow trainers. I am sure the six people I passed appreciated this :-)

Next Saturday we are even busier and half of Sunday, so I will run Mon, Wed, Fri this week.

Week 4 runs: 2x 3 minutes and 2x 5 minutes. I was feeling like I had the hang of 3 minute runs yesterday, how bad can 5 minutes be?

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Week 3, day 2

Thu, 27 Nov 2014 14:16:07 GMT

Posted by: rmc28

Another pair of 3 minute runs survived! In fact, the first one, I actually almost regretted coming to the end of it, I felt like I was in a rhythm that was working.

I think this is a benefit for me of running outdoors, and knowing my usual route quite well: I can literally look ahead and think "hmm, I expect I'll probably get to *there* with this bit of running": a very visual countdown.

Next run: Saturday afternoon after cinema and lunch with the family.

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Week 3, day 1

Mon, 24 Nov 2014 14:27:09 GMT

Posted by: rmc28

I survived the 3-minute runs! I won't say they were easy, but they weren't so hard that I felt worried about being able to complete them. Fastest pace yet (unsurprising given the shortest workout and the highest ratio of running to walking).

It's cold and bright here, and that makes it easier to go out than when it's unrelieved grey cloud cover.

For the first time ever I had to queue for the office showers. There are two self-contained shower rooms with a little waiting area outside, but normally I hardly ever see anyone else in there. As I went in, someone else came in to the waiting area behind me, so it's obviously a popular time to run. (note to self: go out earlier on Monday lunchtimes)

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Week 3

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 00:36:21 GMT

Posted by: liv

Ended up postponing yesterday's run to today, so I didn't quite make my three in a week. But I'm not far off, I did three runs in 8 days.

I wasn't sure if I would be able to, but I managed both the 3 minute runs of week 3 at 10 kph. 90 seconds isn't quite long enough for me to fully recover, but I just about managed to keep going anyway. Total distance 2.4 km, because the actual length of the workout in week 3 is quite short. My lungs are a bit cross with me but no, it was worth it, I actually can run for 3 minutes at 10 kph, without being completely exhausted (witness the fact I managed it a second time!)

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Week 3, day wheeze

Wed, 01 May 2013 22:46:57 GMT

Posted by: healingmirth

I usually extend my runs a bit - I've got a destination I like to run to, so I usually stick to the same route and tack some extra 90-second intervals on to the end as needed, to stay warm and get back to my door a little faster.

For a bunch of reasons (hockey to watch, ( new shoes ), replacement earbuds Do Not Fit my ears and kept falling out) I cut my route short and therefore ended up running my last interval up the steepest sustained incline on the route.

So, that was dumb, but probably good for me. Onward!

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Week 3, yet again.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:54:29 GMT

Posted by: healingmirth

Hello!

I've been lurking for a while, but now that it's warmer, I'm back to running, and I thought I'd pitch my two cents of experience in.

This is my third pass through C25K. Two years ago, I started too late in the season to get through the whole program, but worked through every week on schedule up to wherever I quit. Last spring, I started over again, possibly on week two? I actually made it to week seven, and then Hurricane Sandy arrived and conveniently placed trees and downed power lines all along my route.

So, year three. I jumped in at week 3 (90/90sec, 3/3 min, repeat) and while my legs are totally complaining, I didn't feel like I was dying during any point of the run, and found a few songs for my running playlist to help me push my pace a little faster when I'm ready for it.

Last year's week seven was the longest I had ever run in my life, by a metaphorical mile. My previous continuous max was a literal mile for one anomalous Presidential Fitness test in middle school. I'm having a hard time imagining running ever being more than a chore, but I'm enjoying the accomplishment, and might aim for an actual 5k this fall. Maybe.

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Week 3 Day 3

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:33:43 GMT

Posted by: ewt

I found this morning hard work. I'm a bit sleep-deprived, a bit stressed, a bit achey. All of these are reasons I definitely needed to exercise, and all reasons that I wanted to get on with doing other things instead.

So, go me for turning up anyway. It's interesting how much differently I perceive the activity itself when the machine is the same and the programme is the same but I am not feeling great. It makes sense that everything is a bit less comfortable, feels a bit harder, but I had to talk myself into keeping going today in a way I haven't really had to before -- not because I was in significant pain or struggling to breathe fast enough or anything like that (I wasn't), but just because I didn't feel like it.

Here's hoping next week is more usual.

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Week 3 Days 1, 2

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:40:06 GMT

Posted by: ewt

It has been wet enough here over the last several months that Wanstead Flats, where I like to walk, is consistently quite soggy. So I finally bit the bullet and did some walking on the treadmill at the gym.

I like it more than I thought I would. Noise-cancelling headphones are an asset as the background music at the gym is not pleasant; the headphones don't entirely get rid of it, but they make it quiet enough that I can listen to something else. But the ground isn't uneven and I don't have to try to avoid dog poo or fox poo and it doesn't rain and, well, as much as I love being outside, I tend to get distracted by the plants.

The treadmills at the gym have options for time, distance or calories to use as goals. I've been setting the time as 40min, then gradually increasing speed to 5km/h, then starting the "C25K" app on my phone. When it's time for a "running" interval I put the treadmill speed up to 6.5km/h, and the "brisk walking" speed is 5.5km/h. When the app on the phone tells me I am finished, I walk at 6km/h until my time is up (usually around 15 minutes).

So far this seems to be OK, though in fairness I've only done it twice. The extra time at the end is so that if I'm having a bad joint day, I can reduce the amount I'm doing but probably still complete the C25K aspect of the programme; it's mostly a psychological gimmick. My plan is to continue doing this until I have finished the programme or get injured (let's hope not), then repeat but with all speeds higher by .5km/h. I'm still aiming for two sessions a week rather than three, especially as I'm currently doing some rowing on two or three other days (as recommended to me by nearly every physiotherapist I've ever had), but I am only doing each session once (rather than repeating them as I was with running). This morning I walked 3.9k total with an average speed of 5.9km/h, according to the treadmill.

I haven't decided what I will do if I find I can't walk fast enough and end up breaking into a jog, but I don't think that's likely to happen on this iteration of walking Couch to 5k.

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Week 2 complete; week 3 interupted by snow

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 19:47:10 GMT

Posted by: lavendersparkle

I completed week 2, doing runs 2 and 3 at lunch time in the part next to work. Run three was somewhat impeded because I forgot the skirt I usually wear over my yoga pants to run, so ended up running wearing an ankle length corduroy skirt. There's a reason professional athletes don't do that.

The snow is causing a bit of a problem for week 3. If it hadn't snowed I would do run one tomorrow, but I don't think that would be a good idea. Instead my plan is to do the first run on Monday at lunch time at work, as central London tends to be a few degrees warmer than the suburbs, so I'm hopeful that it will be non-icey enough to run in the park.

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Week 3 Day 3

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:24:23 GMT

Posted by: rmc28

Success!

Mild stitch in first long run, ran determinedly slower until last minute of last long run. On the good side, 90 seconds of running feels "easy" now. Looking at next week's 5 minute run with a bit of trepidation (time to make another playlist I think).

Scheduling remains a pain. I had a politics day conference yesterday and was too slow to wake to run beforehand and too tired afterwards to run (or indeed to go to a social event in the evening, bah). I'm now half a week out of sync, and I'm wary of overdoing things by exercising on consecutive days. So I think I'm going to aim for alternate days until I sync back up with my study week, however long that takes, and no doubt with further occasional 'misses'.

From tomorrow I'm going to be cycling rather than walking to work, and cycling back and forth at lunchtime. I will have to run either first-thing or in the evening; if it were just me to consider I'd prefer mornings but I suspect evening is going to work better for babycare. Babies: not conducive to fitness regimes.

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Week3 Day 2

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:20:33 GMT

Posted by: rmc28

Success!

Again I think I got the pace right, even though it feels slow. I let myself speed up a bit for the second half of the last run, and really go for it in the last 30 seconds, which gave me a stitch to walk off in the cool-down. Distance-wise I got fractionally further than on Monday.

I failed utterly to run yesterday and expect I will now run Saturday for the end of week 3 and try for Mon/Wed/Fri next week to reset.

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Week 3 success

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 17:16:55 GMT

Posted by: liv

Absolutely gorgeous conditions for running today: sunny and breezy, neither too cold nor too hot. I was a bit over-confident because of my faster run on the treadmill yesterday, so I started out a bit faster than is really sustainable. I did complete the whole activity for Week 3, albeit a bit slowly towards the end. My average pace was 9'45'' /km, but that's at least partly because I was walking for fully twice as much time as I was running. I finished the running bit at the opposite end of the park from the finish point of my route, so I left Runkeeper on for a longish walking cooldown.

Week 4 looks somewhat terrifying with 16 minutes of running instead of 9, but I can only try it and see...

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Week 3 Day 1

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:06:08 GMT

Posted by: rmc28

Success!

I was a bit worried I wouldn't feel well enough after work, with the cold not quite gone. But I packed my stuff anyway and decided to give it a go. I seem to have got a good slow running pace this time, no stitches and good breathing, even on the two 3 minute runs. So that is a win. It feels a bit ridiculously slow, but it works.

Scheduling now gets a bit tricky; to keep on track and keep my running weeks aligned with my study weeks I should run Wed & Fri to finish this week, and then Sun, Tue and Thur next week. Both Wed and Fri are going to be tricky in the evening for different reasons and are my usual days for morning school run; I am going to try setting my alarm an hour earlier those days and hold asking Tony to cover my school runs as a backup.

Sunday and Tuesday are a lot easier to fit running into, thankfully. Today's positive run has me keen to continue.

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Week 3 day 2

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:37:34 GMT

Posted by: liv

I learned my lesson from the weekend, and dragged myself to the gym this evening instead of running outdoors. The advantage is that running on the treadmill gave me pace. I did the calculations and realized that my goal speeds of 6 kph walking and 7.5 kph running are only slightly faster than I've been managing so far, so I set the treadmill to those speeds and pushed myself to actually complete the whole thing at pace. It was doable, and it didn't even feel like I was at the limits of what I can do, though definitely hard work. And I think it's good for me not to let myself slow right down for the recovery sections.

I successfully completed the second workout, 2.5 km in 23 minutes (including the 5 minute warmup). This gives me an average pace of 9'12'' /km, which is faster than I've measured with Runkeeper before. Plus I walked 1.5 km to the gym and the same distance back, though I wasn't going particularly fast.

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Week 3 day 1

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:31:29 GMT

Posted by: liv

OK, 6 degrees is officially too cold for running outdoors. Although it was fairly pleasant, since it's sunny and since I kept moving enough that I didn't actually feel cold, I wasn't really able to breathe deeply enough to run and I could feel that I was beginning to get asthma-ish spasms. I've had half an hour to recover and I'm still kind of struggling to take deep breaths. This really does mean I need to go back to the gym, even though it's faffy and smelly and boring.

Having started, I wanted to push myself to actually complete the exercise, and I did in fact manage the two 3-minute runs of the week 3 workout. Only just, and running even slower than I have been so far. So my average pace was only very slightly under 10 min / km again, rather worse than the 9 1/2 ish I was managing for week 2. Still, it looks like I am physically capable of running for 3 minutes continuously, even in unfriendly conditions, which wasn't a given.

(Runkeeper didn't get any GPS signal during the warmup and quite a bit into the run, so I've multiplied up the numbers as best as I can and they're even less accurate than usual.)

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Couch to 5k

Self-monitoring is hard

Week 3: 8'47'' /km

Week 3 day 3

Struggling

Week 3, day 3

Week 3, day 2

Week 3, day 1

Week 3

Week 3, day *wheeze*

Week 3, yet again.

Week 3 Day 3

Week 3 Days 1, 2

Week 2 complete; week 3 interupted by snow

Week 3 Day 3

Week3 Day 2

Week 3 success

Week 3 Day 1

Week 3 day 2

Week 3 day 1

Week 3, day wheeze