~~~Couch to 5K ~~~ Think you can't be a runner? Think again!

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by RoseOOPS

Hi, I just started the couch to 5K last night. I have never been a runner even when I was young. I do work out everyday, cardio and weights. Thought I was good shape cardio wise, but the 60 sec. jog and 90 sec. walk really did me in. I was jogging slow and my heartrate was way up there. I'm not given up. I will be a runner.

Sunnabee you and your father are in my payers.

Rose

Sweety, if I can do it, you can do it!

I was almost 300 lbs when I started this couch to 5k business. Honestly I found the first week the hardest and did week one twice. I havent repeated a week since.

Today I did week 6 day 3, so 25 minutes straight. My heart rate went up to 153 within the first 200, I find the first two laps to be the hardest then I get into a rhythm. My heart rate actually went DOWN after my first mile to about 145 and hung there.

My mile time was 14 minutes and 24 seconds, last week it was 15 minutes and 8 seconds so I've improved on speed some anyways! i'm still pretty slow.

But Im going Week 7 is just a full week of 25 minute runs. i can do it though!

[JazzyV]

Hi everyone.

I ran 2.5 miles tonight, which took me about 38 minutes. I'll continue that distance and try to gain a little speed over the next few weeks.

Sunabee: Continued prayers for your Dad.

Jazzy

[Salamander]

Howdy

I haven't checked in for a few days. yesterday I completed w6d2- 25minute run. It was fine! I can't believe that just a few weeks ago I could only run 3-5 minutes at a time. Amazing! I have lost a total of 1 inch off my body in the last 2 weeks (that's when i first started measuring). I was hoping to lose more around my abdomen than 1/4 inch but I think that means I need to be a little more strict on the diet. I haven't ran on a track so I don't know how long I run to do a mile, estimating (based on my treadmill speed) about 12 1/2-13 min. I'm not worried about going fast, just being able to do the time is great!

Desdemona, Jazzy, Rose and Aloise , everyone is doing great at their level!

[desdemona]

Well I'm off to do week 7 day 1 *yawn* another 25 minutes. WIsh my luck!

[RoseOOPS]

Just finished day 2 of week 1. It was better than day 1. I'm starting to get cramps in the back of my calfs. I think as soon as I figure out this cramp thing I'll be just fine. Maybe I'll be a runner yet
Good Luck desdemona some day I'll be at week 7 too

Rose

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by RoseOOPS

Just finished day 2 of week 1. It was better than day 1. I'm starting to get cramps in the back of my calfs. I think as soon as I figure out this cramp thing I'll be just fine. Maybe I'll be a runner yet
Good Luck desdemona some day I'll be at week 7 too

Rose

If my 260 lb butt can do it, you can! You need to do your warmup half walk, half jog for 5 minutes then stop and stretch your calves. Then they wont hurt so much. that's what I do.


Week 7 day 1 finished. I was slow but I did it.

[JazzyV]

Week 1, Day 3 of One Hour Runner

2.5 miles done, with a faster 2 mile split! I almost got to 30 minutes for 2 miles; I was 30:22. The last half mile was harder since I'd run faster prior to it.

How's everyone doing?

Jazzy

[aloise]

day 2 of week 3. but.. I couldn't make the 3 minutes the 2nd time. don't know why... but I stopped at 2:30. the first time wasn't hard. but, the 2nd time.. just felt like too much. and my heart rate was 174.. so, I think I'm going to check to see what my heart range should be.

on the good side.. my heart rate is dropping back to normal much faster on the walks, and not going as high on the jogs.. except for that last one. I forgot to put on my jogging bra.. and maybe I was getting a bit stressed toward the end.. DD without a proper bra.. arrrggguhh..

well.. I will try again Sunday.

[RoseOOPS]

WOW I finished week 1. It was easier today. Calf muscles still get a little cramped, but I jogged thur it.

Aloise Week 3 is a long jog than weeks 1 & 2 I'm sure it will get easier. I hope so cause I'll be there in a couple of weeks

Hey does anyone lose weight by doing this??? I workout 5 - 6 times a week and watch what I eat. Earlier this year the doc put me on an antidepressant and I gained 20 lbs. Even tho I workout and try to watch my diet the 20 lbs are stuck around my waist. I thought maybe adding this running thing would help Well it can't hurt !!

Rose

[desdemona]

I'm suppose to do day 2 of week 7 today. Didnt happen this morning, went through clothes and packed a few boxes (Im moving in three weeks).

I'll do it tonight.

[aloise]

Originally Posted by Cablegriz

My 'run' is definitely a 'jog' to most, my hubby said that doesn't matter and over time you will get faster naturally with weight coming down and easier breathing.

Bethy, what does your husband say about heartrate training, and zones? does he say that you should keep the heartrate in a certain zone to improve fitness? is that the same zone as just losing weight?

I've read differing points of view on this..

[Salamander]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I did w7d1. Another successful 25 min jog! It was a nice cool day. I'm amazed at how well I'm doing. It wasn't that long ago that I was just starting the program like some of you, and not sure if I could jog 3 or 5 minutes at a time... and having to repeat week 4 ... and now I can see myself doing 30, 40 minutes in no time!

RoseOOPS, regarding the weight loss. I have been looking at running sites, reading books etc, and have learned that most people do not lose a lot of extra pounds when they first start this program. First, many end up eating more because the exercise makes them hungry. Second, you aren't burning that many calories during the workout. for example, say you typically burn 200 cals/ hour with running/walking. If you are doing this for 30 minutes, 3xs a week, you are only going to burn about 450 calories for the whole week. So watching your diet very carefully, along with walking or doing other cardio on the off days, is the best plan to drop pounds. It looks like you are already doing this, so keep it up and results will come eventually. I have less than 10 to lose so I know it will be awhile... I'm measuring myself and going by how my clothes fit, more than by the pounds lost.

I store most of my fat in my abdomen, so I know how that is. (I haven't had weight gain from a prescription, though). It's always the last place I lose. My thighs are looking great, but they weren't too bad to begin with!

[desdemona]

Im thinking to really lose weight from jogging you probably have to do it like 45 minutes to an hour to get a good cardio benefit from it

[RoseOOPS]

Hopefully someday I will be able to run 45 minutes. I work out at least 5 days a week anyway and just tacked this on. According to my HRM I burn about 150 calories doing 20 to 25 minutes of C25K. That is not to bad, add that on to my regular workouts and it can be a nice calorie burn.

Monday I start week 2 90 seconds of jogging !!! This is really fun

Rose

[RoseOOPS]

Just finished W2D1. What a differance jogging 90 and walking 60 !! I kept telling myself that the first day of wk 1 was hard too, but it will get easier. I did manage to finish and I fell GREAT.

Hope everyone had a great weekend
Rose

[desdemona]

I liked week 2. I did it for awhile *laughs*

I think Im probably going to hang at week 7 for awhile...I don't know. Since Im packing and moving and such right now I don't know how much time I'm going to have for everything. I'll at least get in twice a week but thursday I'm working OT so may not happen. Depends how I feel. I'll be off work at 8pm and have to be back at work at 6am Friday.

[aloise]

did week 3, day 3. that's alternating sets of 1.5 minutes jog/walk with 3 minutes jog/walk for 2 sets.

since I had such a hard time getting thru the last 3minute jog, I did some reading. I found this site: Running for fitness - the website

and it has calculators for all kinds of things, including calculating your max heart rate, and your heart rate zones.

I got out a heart monitor that I haven't used in ages, and took it to the gym. this time, when my heart rate got too high (the red line zone), I slowed down the treadmill a notch. and I made it! and felt better, too

so... I am going to use the Heart monitor from now on. I don't really care if I'm slow... just want to make the time - build up the endurance. one step at a time.

[JazzyV]

I started week 2 of my One Hour Runner last night. Last night's run was hard for me. I'm not sure why, except that I did a lot of uphill walking on Saturday. I didn't even think I'd make half a mile. My legs didn't hurt, but it was like I had no gas in the tank. I did 2 miles, but slower than my usual slow run. Maybe because I didn't have my 2 days of rest it affected me. Also I had a great run on Friday, so it was disappointing to feel this way. But at least I didn't quit in the first 5 minutes, which I wanted to do.

Jazzy

[desdemona]

I did week 8 I guess, I jogged for 28 minutes.

I'm still slow but I really do set into an even pace and my heart rate hangs out in the 130s. I think I could afford to speed up a bit and keep my HR in the 140s-150s but hey, I may as well get up to week 9 and finish things before I start freaking out about going too slow.

You know you turned into an exercise freak when you figure out a 3 day moving truck trip and calculate in time to jog.

[RoseOOPS]

Well I did w2 d2 today. I don't know if it was any easy than day 1. I find it still hard but not impossible. I'm using this as a HIIT work out. While I run my heart rate is way up there, then I bring it back down when I walk. I do my regular cardio after the run and have noticed that my HR is higher when I do the run. Example would be a workout were my HR is around 127 - 130 is now 137 - 140. It's not that my HR is slow to recover. It recovers with in minutes, it just doesn't take much to get it back up.

Jazzy - I'm having trouble with 90 seconds and you're doing 1 hour. !!!!

Aloise - That is an interesting website.

Sassynot - Exercise becomes a way of life Just like brushing your teeth each morning I need to workout .

Rose

[JazzyV]

I managed to run 2.5 miles tonight. It wasn't as hard as Monday, but again I was really slow. It doesn't help that the temperatures have gone back up into the 80's. I may try running outside a little this weekend.

Rose: I'm working up to 1 hour, not there yet, although I am running for about 40 minutes. Keep it up, you'll get there!

Jazzy

[aloise]

boy.. what is wrong with me? I've been wearing a heart rate monitor.. and my heart rate gets up to 160 sometimes.. but I feel all right. 170 pushing it.. I try to slow it down when I get to 160 (and I'm not going that fast to begin with). I would say I run mostly at 150 ... in around there (bounces up and down)

but.. I feel fine... until I read about all these 130 heart rates!!! everyone must be in a lot better shape than me..

ok.. did week 4 day 1. and I can't believe I did the whoooooole workout! but.. I'm getting the hang of running at a certain pace so that I don't get too winded. when I start feeling myself get out of breath.. I slow down. so what if I end up jogging slower than I usually WALK on the treadmill.. DOESN'T MATTER.. BECAUSE I'M JOGGING!!!

I told my husband tonight, "you know.. I am beginning to think I might eventually be able to run for 20 minutes!!!" I would be sooo thrilled.

Hard to believe I could barely make the 60 seconds of jogging the first week.

I see everyone else is doing fine! this is fun! and I tell you, this has done a lot for my self esteem, I've got to say.

[RoseOOPS]

Aloise;

These is nothing wrong with your hear rate. When I'm jogging my HR will spike up too This usually happens after the second jog. The faster your HR comes back down the fitter you are getting. I find that when ever I try something new my HR will spike up until my body gets use to it.
What I was saying about my HR being in the 130's is this; Some cardio that I've done for a while none will not get my HR up there. I have found that after my run if I do some of my cardio my HR will get into the 130's. If I do the cardio with no prior run my HR is in the 120's.
The thing now is "HIIT" which is high intensity interval training. You only do it about 3 times a week for about 20 - 30 minutes. During HIIT you bring your HR way up for a short period of time then cool down then back up and back down. Sounds like C25K with the walking and jogging. Don't worry this type of training is good for you.

Rose

[desdemona]

my heart rate is weird. It goes up to like 150 the first lap then it goes back down. I don't slow down or stop or anything, its like it goes 'oh well shes just gonna ignore me so I may as well stop freaking out' and it goes down. my AVERAGE is usually around 135-140. That being said, I jog 28 minutes and barely make 2 miles. That's slow.

[aloise]

Originally Posted by RoseOOPS

Aloise;

These is nothing wrong with your hear rate. When I'm jogging my HR will spike up too This usually happens after the second jog. The faster your HR comes back down the fitter you are getting. I find that when ever I try something new my HR will spike up until my body gets use to it.
What I was saying about my HR being in the 130's is this; Some cardio that I've done for a while none will not get my HR up there. I have found that after my run if I do some of my cardio my HR will get into the 130's. If I do the cardio with no prior run my HR is in the 120's.
The thing now is "HIIT" which is high intensity interval training. You only do it about 3 times a week for about 20 - 30 minutes. During HIIT you bring your HR way up for a short period of time then cool down then back up and back down. Sounds like C25K with the walking and jogging. Don't worry this type of training is good for you.

Rose

well, thanks.. that is good to know. I will pay closer attention to the drop rate from now on.

and.. this is very encouraging, because it means the more I do this, the more there is the possibility that I will be able to run the whole time at a lower heart rate which I know would be more enjoyable, to be honest. and I would like to get to the point where I could just jog comfortably for 20 minutes. that would really be nice.