Don't be embarrassed. We all have questions sometimes.

And yes, you need to do your rest day between runs.

My fiancée decided to ask me 3 days ago if I want to sign up for a local (UK) marathon that's at the back end of this year.

I've never done any running in my life. She has done numerous 5 & 10k's but not for a while. So we have decided to set our goals for taking part in the same marathon the year after.

So on Friday I downloaded the C25K app and I'm just about to set off for day one.

I have my Fitbit and headphones on charge, bottle of water at the ready, ate a banana and I'm wearing what I believe to be the correct clothing but I guess we will see!

Wish me luck guys!

Background: I completed C25K and ran my first 5k in 2017. My last 5k was in 2019. Since then, the crepitus in both knees is much louder, buritus pain sometimes (on the lower inside of my right knee), and both knees definitely get stiff if I sit in one position too long. I try not to but I honestly don't think about it until I gotta stand up & straighten my legs, instant regret lol

That being said, does anyone have experience with those kind of knee issues and their journey to start running again/following c25k? I'm not as heavy as I used to be (5'4" and 165 now) but worried my knees are gonna get reeeal mad about high impact and make it worse. Thoughts? Advice? Nice words? I'll take it...

A little sore,sure, but utter exhaustion is surprising. Canceled all days plans to binge watch videos and snack on protein.

Edit/Update: Good news, I got a burst of energy half way through the day. Hit a huge museum and housework, so more active than pre-C25 season Sundays!

Just saying hi really

I'm 26F, weighing 163lbs, 5'4". I'm currently on week 3 of C25K, and honestly I've never been more proud of myself.

I've never been into running or sports really. I used to walk a lot but now have a desk job, so barely move. I always thought it would be impossible to start running.

This programme has really helped me! I just did a 3 minute run, which isn't a lot to some, but honestly I'd never gave imagined myself doing it. I'm just so happy with my progress.

I've had a look at the future weeks, so I'm a bit worried 😂 but really it's been great so far. People should really keep up with this!

W7R3 today and beautiful weather, and I saw the Adidas challenge, so thought I'd challenge myself. And even if it was very slowly, I did it!

I’ve been attempting to loosely follow C25K - I only run once a week for cardio, but work out the other four days of the week (lifting and boxing).

I run on a treadmill, it helps me with pacing and outdoor running is tough where I am. I usually do the warmup walk at 5kph, run at 8kph (and do the last 2-3 mins at 9kph) and then cooldown at 4.5-5kph depending on how tired I am.

My Fitbit was going crazy today when I was working out so I checked and saw my HR peaked at 190bpm, and for 23 of the 25 run minutes my heart rate was 140-190bpm.

I feel pretty ok right now, obviously tired and I got a slight cramp in my side; but just wanted to check if this is safe or problematic in any way? My resting HR for context is usually 57-63bpm.

I am very new to running, have been walking 15-20k steps a day but an upcoming change in routine is going to limit my time to walk/exercise so I'm giving this program a go in the lead up.

I thought this was really cool to see the peaks of the interval runs on my heart rate tracker.

I've done it and I'm very happy about it! 5K in 33 minutes. I was planning to just run 30 minutes, but I wanted to run 5 kilometres already :)

https://preview.redd.it/xn38x36eqhge1.jpg?width=708&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebed83da31c38ed49f85df49064041335d20a8cd

Week three of my eight-week program is when the walking and running portions become equal. Today I did 2.5 mins walking at 5km/h, 2.5 mins running at 8km/h, repeated four times.

What I didn't expect was that I would feel so angry. Upset with myself for letting myself get so overweight and unfit. I had Slipknot screaming CUT CUT CUT ME UP AND FUCK FUCK FUCK ME UP in my ears for half of it.

It felt amazing. I've struggled with depression badly in my adult life. I felt like a teenager again, full of emotion and also the will to use it. I hope that continues.

C25K is the only self-directed fitness program I’ve actually stuck with and hit my goal. I think it works because of the simple app, clear goal, and smart pacing. Are there other programs you swear by for similar training, even in cycling, yoga, weightlifting, etc.?

Thanks!

I'm a chronic overresearcher and probably know more about running than I'll ever need at my level (pacing, posture, heart rate zones etc.) and I know that I should repeat days or weeks if I can't finish them, but something I couldn't really find anything on was how hard or easy each session should feel to know you're getting challenged enough, but not too much.

I only know running as a warmup or punishment in school, so the only feeling I ever got from it was PAIN. The last time I ran 2 years ago was with my bf, who pushed me for 15 min of slow jogging without any exercise prior, but that also made me sore for half a week and I know that's not the intention for C25K when my next workout is supposed to be in 2 days.

So my question is, if I did those 8 intervals of 1min run and 1:30min walk, how tired should I be? If after the last interval I could still run for 2 minutes more, should I just skip the first week or should I rather try to increase my walking or jogging speed? Or do I keep this up the same and just feel glad I'm not completely winded after? (if it changes anything: my pulse was at times up to 190 but I still felt like I had a bit energy left, and now after showering I'm less winded than after my usual half hour yoga sessions)

It’s been bitterly cold where I live -20°C but i’ll be travelling for a few weeks where it will be a bit warmer -2° to 6°C for a few weeks. I won’t have access to a treadmill. Any tips or tricks for transitioning from the treadmill to outside?

I was doing really good before Christmas and got all the way up to week 7 and then alot of stuff happened and I didn't run for a month. I set myself all the way back to week 3, completed it and was ready to go again. I got a new job though that comes with 3 twelve hour shifts, and then 3 eight hour shifts and then 3 days off. I've tried but I cannot run on those twelve hour shift days. Commute included, I have just enough time to shower and cook and then hunker down for bed. So I came up with an idea, workout on the first and third eight hour shift days, and then the middle of my days off. Is this ok? It slows down my whole workout routine quite a bit but it's the only viable thing because I need rest and this job is exhausting. I'm just paranoid because I saw what happens when you take time off like over Christmas and how much progress you can lose. Should I actually just tough it out?

Let's brag a little. What did you accomplish this week?

I started running in January and love it alread, I find it very addictive. Just ran my first 5k

I went from a complete non-runner before January so I have really surprised myself, I always had it down as something I would be terrible at.

Now my next goal is 5k under 30mins.

I have recently started my C25K journey as I want to build up my fitness again that I once had. Before starting my C25K journey I attempted some 5K’s flat out and could never do them without stopping and walking sometimes but I have ran about 5-7 since the new year. So I decided to back track and start C25K and hopefully this could help me run a 5K without stopping. When I signed up it’s started me on week 3 after asking me the questions of how fit you are etc. Week 3 seemed too easy so it jumped the gun and put me straight on week 4. Is this the right route I am taking to reach the goal I am currently trying to achieve?

FYI I use to play football 7 days and week and run cross country for my borough when I was at school/college so idk if this means my body will have some sort of muscle memory and get use to running a lot quicker than someone who hasn’t done exercise before? This was a good few years ago now too so who knows. I just need advice on what’s best for my situation if anyone knows.

Thank you in advance!😁

Week seven says run 2 1/2 miles or 25 minutes I’m running 25 minutes but as soon as I get to that and my run finishes I realise that I haven’t actually run 2 1/2 miles. I’ve probably done that or just under including my five minute warmup.

Should I be running faster by now? I’m running about 12/14 pace . Any faster really guesses me and I’m not ready to do that yet and I think I won’t be able to run the 25 minutes if I run any faster

I’ve neglected them so much movement, nutrients, stretching, and rest over the decades and yet they not only still move ok, they’re giving me its blessings to become a bonified runner after just a few weeks of TLC. Thank you, limbs! 😊

I was dreading this run all week and even thought I should repeat W5R2, but I’m glad I pushed through it. I’m excited for week 6 and I’m thinking of increasing my speed just a little bit too!

I attempted the 20 minute run on Sunday, but I only lasted 13 minutes. Did it again on Tuesday and made it 17.5 minutes. Should I keep repeating until I get it, go back to a previous day, or move on to week 6 even though I couldn't complete it?

Hi!

I’ve started running two weeks ago! I run every two days for around 25 minutes and on average my watch tells me I’m on active movement for 2.2km during these 25 minutes. Struggling with running continuously so I alternate between running for 3 to 4 minutes and walking for 2 minutes for the duration of my session, while listening to 150bpm music so I can get the rhythm.

So which week do you think I should start the program at? I feel like week one would be a bit too easy for me? Or maybe I am underestimating it.

Thanks a lot for the help!

When for a run for the first time in years the other day. Completely blew myself up and it really hit home how unfit I am. Been looking into C25K and I'm keen to give it a crack. But there seems to be heaps of different apps. Which one is the best? And what is some advice for a fat guy trying to run again. I'd love to complete a 5k in my city sometime this year. Thanks

Hi all. I'm not 100% new to running, but am picking it up for the first time in several years. I decided to do a C25K to get back in the groove, and started with Runna before ultimately switching to Nike Run Club.

Everything was going well, I made it through week 4 and felt like I was improving and having fun. But I couldn't ignore the pain that was building up in my knees and ankles. This wasn't muscle soreness (although there was some of that too of course), it was definitely joint pain. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't keep with the plan - I did make it all the way through week 4 - but it did start to impact my form and so I decided it would be foolish to keep trying to push through.

So I took a week off, and the pain slowly subsided. Slowly. Then, exactly one week later, I got back on the horse (in the running shoes...?). The pain was definitely better but it came back more swiftly than I would like.

So now I haven't run since that first one back. My knees feel fine, but I feel like I'm missing something. I can RICE my knee, but ultimately it definitely just shouldn't hurt this much. In googling around I see that people recommend strength training often.

Any advice you have is welcome!

Any newbies get shin splints? I’m on W3D1 and I’ve noticed my left shin always acting up. I’ve had my runner bf correct my posture but I was curious if any newbies had this issue also

I want to try and lose weight and I want to try running however when I do run my stomach and chest bounce around and cause a lot of discomfort. Would something like a compression shirt or vest help with this and keep everything in place?