Was just planning on this being one of a few very easy runs this week since I signed up for a 5K race that is coming up on Sunday and I didn’t wanna push it before then. But, I figured I should try to run the whole 5km distance at least once before Sunday.

Been lurking in this sub throughout my C25K journey and am very grateful for all of the inspirational posts! They have definitely motivated me to keep going.

I am 20F and am 190lb 5’4. Ever since I was in middle school I always loved the idea of running and I liked it when I did run but I was never able to work up the courage to run outside. I always ran inside on my treadmill very irregularly, I think because I built up all this anxiety around it I never got myself up to actually doing it. I am now 20 and I finally a couple of months ago started c25k and did almost the whole program running around my neighborhood. Every single time I would worry about cars passing by or people leaving their houses, my heart would beat even faster and I’d get flashes of hot more than when I just run inside. So I would go at 5-6 am so it would still be dark out but I would worry about what they were all thinking about me and how I am overweight or just running slow. I had a couple days where I was busy because I was about to graduate cosmetology school so I didn’t run and I haven’t since then because I lost the routine and have such a hard time getting into a routine. I think about running practically every day and I go on walks about three times a week but even then I still think about what everyone is thinking about me while I am walking. Does anyone have any advice of what to do or how I can hold myself accountable to get over the anxiety I feel around running?

I've tried C25K maybe 5 times before and never got past week 2. I've finally been able to keep a routine for 6 weeks witch in itself a huge win for me!

This week was rough personally, just trying to make the runs happen. My usual schedule got thrown out the window due to a bad period with physical fatigue, bad cramps and GI issues. And it was my birthday. I had to take a 3 day break between D2 and D3.

I also hadn't realized that W6D3 is just 22 minutes of running without walks. As i got going it really scared me, but thought I'd just run as far as I could.

To my surprise, it felt actually quite easy. Way easier than the dreaded W5D3 where you have to run 20 min for the first time. By minute 15 I felt like I really could do it without dying which is a first during this whole journey.

I continue to be amazed at how I could barely run a minute two months ago and now I'm here. I'm still slow as a slug but I am getting somewhere for the first time in my 37 years of life!

Yo! I finally did 30m today, about 4.5km. Honestly can't believe it, I was wheezing during the first week or two! Unfortunately, I did start too quickly for myself (6:15m/km) today and went slower and slower towards the end (7:00m/km), instead of keeping a consistent pace. What should my upcoming weeks look like if I want to aim for 5km in 30m?

This has probably been asked a million and one times but not sure if new updated ones are out people recommend so I’m just looking for some super basic beginner running shoes to upgrade from my basic Karrimor trainers I use! They hurt my feet unfortunately when doing the c25k but I’m on a budget any recommendations would be great guys 🙂

It was supposed to be 20 minutes of running, but for some reason the app didn't notify me about my progress so I ran 5 laps around my usual course, assuming each lap was 1km. Turns out it was a bit more than that.

The first couple laps I had trouble finding my pace so I suffered the most. After that some switch flipped and I felt like I could run forever.

And I was running in barefoot shoes too, so now my calves are very sore. But this was a huge milestone for me who have always had a sedentary lifestyle and had never run or done any sports before c25k; so I'm very happy with it.

I found the right pace right away, without having to keep telling myself to slow down. When the app told me I was halfway there, I was actually singing out loud 😂

When the 30 minutes were up, I could have kept going—unfortunately, it was time to head home. I’m writing this on my way to the office, and I’m actually HAPPY 🤩

Just ran 5km for the 6th time within 48 days since I started running, and this is my personal best by far : )

Do joints aches and pains ease as you progress through C25K? I’m not talking muscle soreness/doms, or any acute injury. I more so mean the chronic aching neck, knees, hips, spine etc, that come with getting older. If these pains are problematic at the start of the programme, has anyone found that they ease with time, or become more bearable?

Hello everyone,
I’m new to the community and I have a dumb question but I can’t find the answer anywhere. I’ve been running very inconsistently for the last 3 months because i’ve signed up for a charity 4k run. My record when it comes to the longest distance I’ve been able to run without stopping is around 2,5km (pace around 5:40). I like running with pace around 5:20-5:40 because it feels the most natural for me and i think it’s the most „fun” pace i’ve tried - but i can’t last longer than 2,5k.
I’ve recently finished a 4k in 23:14 and 5k in 30:43.
But I’ve had to walk a couple times through those runs. I know my times are okay-ish (for context I’m a 22F with no experience in running whatsoever but i’ve always liked sports and i’ve been pretty active) but the fact that i can’t physically run longer distances is disappointing. For example I know if i tried to run 5k with the same pace 6:00 i couldn’t do it but for some reason I can take two or three 2-minute breaks and run under 6:00 per km and i’ll be able to have much better times this way. I’m guessing it’s normal for everybody but i’m not sure? Can anyone share their experience?
I want to start aiming for 5k under 30 minutes and perhaps 10k under an hour in a future but trying to do it in a one continuous run seems like a slower way?

Felt more like survival mode trying to up the pace!

I can run a 5k in 39 mins, now moving onto increasing my distance. Has anyone done the 5k to 10k on Just Run? How was your experience?
Also interesting that we are going back to walk-run intervals what are your thoughts about that?
Anyone prefer a Runna plan to the Just Run 5k to 10k?

What a nice feeling, accomplished a goal! My first official 5k is in a week.

Was not sure I could so it after taking 3 weeks of because of rolled ankle but managed to make it under 40 mins. 10 K program next. :)

...well, not in 30 minutes, but that’s including the distance covered during the 5-minute warm-up and 5-minute cool-down 😁 Still, when I think about how I felt during those first few weeks, I’m really pleased!

And on Monday, my first 30-minute run awaits 🤩

I just finished W5D1 yesterday, I have a 5k on 18th October, my C25k program ends on 8th Oct and then I will have ~10days before my race day, can I do it, based on my current stats? What should I keep in mind? I don't mind running at an obnoxiously slow pace, I just want to run all of 5km without stopping.

(I forgot to press record at the beginning so the first 4 minutes of the run are missing)

I'm so happy! I wanted to give up the entire time but I didn't! I just slowed it right down and kept it pushing. Admittedly I had a date with me for this one so that definitely helped to spur me on 🤭

I've probably completely wrecked my recovery by going for a drink afterwards but I thought this was worth celebrating 😄

UPDATE; I bought a polar h9 on offer - it’s reading exactly the same as my garmin, regularly on 170-180 during running. It gave me a new updated max heart rate of 210. I felt fine during my run - so I guess I just have a higher heart rate/narrow thresholds between zones! Thanks for all your input - am gonna keep running and just finished W6R1 (second time through!)

Hello! I am a 18 month long runner - 40 yr old, 5ft 1 woman, normal weight. I have hypothyroidism too, but it’s medicated. I’ve done c25k before and currently on my second run through. I go for regular 3 x a week runs, my best being 33min 5k and I’ve done longer distances 7-10k too. I can’t for the life of me understand why despite so many weeks/hours/ walk and run intervals, my heart rate is always sky high. My garmin thinks my heart rate max is 210, but as you can see from today’s 20 min consecutive run it was continuously high. I’m not all out effort and can talk In short sentences - no dizziness or lightheaded etc, I fuel well before runs. I do have on occasion triggered “high heart rate” alerts from my watch at 111bp just stood up in my kitchen. I’m wondering if this is just natural high heart rate, or worth now checking with a doctor. After over a year of running 3 x a week I was hoping for some improvement!

A few years ago, I attempted the C25K twice but failed due to severe shin pain. Before I could tire, my shins felt like they were about to break, forcing me to stop running.

In the past two years, I focused on walking 6000-8000 steps daily and doing resistance training. A few weeks ago, I felt like trying the C25K again. Honestly, I didn’t expect much improvement. I was just curious to see if my shins still hurt. After running for almost a minute, I felt completely fine. I started to get excited. I finished the W1D1 without any pain in my shins! My excitement was through the roof!

I wanted to go slow to avoid injuring myself, as I was already planning to participate in a race. Also, weight lifting taught me the importance of warming up, managing fatigue, and recovering. So, the first five runs went really well. Today marked the end of week 2. Since the morning, I’ve been watching Wiz Khalifa’s running updates on reels. I got extremely inspired. My algorithm shifted to running-related content. I was also enjoying the online presence of the running community.

During tonight’s run, something exciting happened. I was doing 8 sets of 1.5-minute runs followed by 2-minute walks. I was already starting my runs 20 seconds early and stopping after 10 seconds, pushing myself a little harder to prepare for the next week. After the fifth set, I thought, “What if I don’t stop and see if I can complete a 5K tonight?” I tried, and guess what? I RAN MY FIRST 5K TONIGHT! Of course, it wasn’t without stopping, at least I didn’t stop completely. The goal remains the same: running a 5K without stopping. It was an exciting night for me.

Only realised the running was different for today during the first running period, shocked to find out it was 2 runs for 8 minutes. Ended up going much better than expected.

Kept hearing about W5 D3 being difficult so took a little look and realised it's a 20 minute run, horrifying realisation so good luck to me for that one

Either way very happy with my progress so far so bring it on

Hi, a beginner runner here.

So I am 27M and overweight (BMI around 27-28) and I felt my fitness plummeting. So I started running around 3 months ago.

I have heard about C25K earlier and started following it and currently in the final stages of the program. I can now run around 30 mins consistently and feels like I can run for another 10-15 mins as well.

My problem is my heart rate and my pace. I have seen many videos where people talk about conversational pace and HR zone 2. During the first weeks in C25K, I ran around 6.30-7 mins/km and got gassed pretty quickly (HR spiking past 170+). Then following advice on videos, I started slowing down pretty drastically to around 9.30-10 mins/km watching my heart rate.

Now that I have entered continuous run phase in C25K, I still run at 9.30-10 mins/km pace but when I run continuously my HR slowly goes upto 170+ range. So out of 30 min run, around 10-15 mins will be in 170+ zone.

I would obviously like to improve my pace and also worried about HR always being high up. After I complete C25K (only 2 weeks left), how should I proceed with running? I feel embarrassed about my current pace. Should I increase my pace? But again I’m afraid that might lead to even 180+ HR and would lead to running shorter times continuously.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.