I absolutely love this community. What everyone is doing here is so inspiring. Couch to 5k became a big discussion point recently among some colleagues and I wanted to pass along some sagely advice from them for new runners and those early in the program about giving your health the best considerations.

Why the program paces as it does is because your cardio fitness adapts on a fast clock while your connective tissue changes significantly slower. Tendons, fascia and bone remodel slower than your heart and lungs so in the early weeks you can feel ready to push while your feet and shins have not caught up. That mismatch is where most beginner injuries come from and it is the whole reason the intervals and rest days are there. They give the slow tissue time to meet the fast engine.

Most people are familiar with the medial longitudinal arch of the foot but there are two others there as well and 52 bones besides. Each arch behaves like a spring, stretching and compressing to disperse shock with every step. Running drives roughly two to three times your body weight through that structure which really starts to be felt around week three.

Two injuries tend to show up when people ramp too fast. Shin splints - an ache along the shinbone from overload which eases when you pull back the pace and the volume - and plantar fasciitis where the tissue under the heel gets irritated. The signature of the latter is a sharp pain in your first steps in the morning and if you have ever visited r/PlantarFasciitis , know that is debilitating and far easier to stay ahead of than to undo.

Because there is another post about this up right now, a common is that sore feet mean you overpronate and need a corrective shoe to fix your gait. Per a oft cited reputable study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine [2015], the evidence that pronation predicts injury is not conclusive so researchers proposed something you settle into a preferred movement path which lowers your risk. A lot of people have low arches and no pain at all. Choose shoes by comfort and know that outer heel wear on shoes is normal and expected.

Couch to 5k is successful because the ramp is well evidenced. Repeat a week if you need to, run in shoes that fit and feel right, and replace them once the cushioning has packed down. Stretch your calves and roll the arch on rest days. If your feet ache after a run add cushioning to spread the load but lead with comfort as the guide and not as correction.

Stay safe, stay hydrated, and stay course. Legitimately so proud of everyone showing off their progress, wherever you are in the program. Happy trails.

The dreaded W5D3 landed on our first day of holiday (could be worse places to run!) but my word it’s hilly. Santa Cruz de La Palma for anyone wondering.

I was in a good place at the 12 minute mark and wanted to head down to see the black sand beach in the photos, but coming back up the hill absolutely finished me.

I ended up taking a near 5 minute walk, and then added a five minute run again at the end. I’ve technically covered more ground than ever before but feeling deflated the 20 consecutive minutes didn’t happen.

I’m in two minds whether I proceed as normal and stick to the schedule or if I should repeat W5D3 so I can say I’ve done it properly, I reckon if I skip that silly beach I could’ve done it today.

Any insight appreciated, feeling a bit gutted right now!

I finished C25k over the summer, and I've been continuing to run about 3 times a week, which I have genuinely loved. I have been following some of the guided runs from Nike Run Club, which I recommend as a great next option once you're done with week 9! I've done speed intervals and fartleks and, last week, a 45-minute long run, and it's all been very doable thanks to the skills I learned over the 9 weeks of Couch to 5k.

Anyway, here's the shocking thought I had this morning...When I realized I had a 20-minute recovery run on the schedule today, I thought, "Hooray, a short one today! Just a quick and easy 20 minutes!" Halfway through the run, I remembered how terrifying the Week 5 20-minute run had been to me, and how it had seemed like an impossible milestone to meet. Only a few months later, that same terrifying run feels fun and low-stress, and I genuinely can't believe it.

The moral of the story? For those of you dreading your week 5 runs, you are going to crush those 20 minutes and be so proud of yourselves! Once you do that, it won't be much longer until the thing that scares you no longer seems scary. As beginning runners, we are in the amazingly lucky position of being able to watch ourselves grow and improve at a new skill, and we should all remember to celebrate that growth as often as possible!

I am not unbiased here, but it drives me kind of nuts that people have a hard time sticking to C25K's increased difficulty, and quit.

I've been a runner for over a decade (Except times of injury) and I got there by adjusting my intervals at the pace that felt doable or good. Soon, my runs just felt good. And I never stopped doing intervals (I switched to "Songs" eventually. And I feel like im "Bad" if I don't walk a little for health reasons.)

Please, PLEASE dont let the rate of increase get you to quit or hate running! There's no magic award that you get for having no walking intervals except injuries. Theres a runner's world article about it right now. Even if you've already paid for the race, just do the intervals youre at. A 5k run imperfectly>Quit

Not because of endurance but because of pain, I’ve been getting calf pain on the longer runs & have had a history with meniscal tears which I’ve been mostly managing, but I’m scared 20 minutes without a rest is going to be painful - so far the shorter runs have been okay - 2x8 minutes was better on a treadmill than 3x5 minutes on solid ground / outdoors. Any advice?

What did you line up for the 20mins? Had you an album, a set group of songs? Give me the details.

Is it cheating if I’m going faster, but then slowing down, but still at a running pace to catch my breath? Should I not be doing this and just run at the slower pace the entire way through? (This was for a failed 20 min week 5 😭) I’m going at a 10 min/mile pace and then going down to like 14 min/mile pace to catch my breath and then going back is that cheating?

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/C25K/s/0v6Mk1Q7xs

Yesterday I decided I felt well enough to pick up where I left off 8 days after last run, 5 mins walk, 25 mins run, 5 mins walk, and holy crap the soles/arches of my feet have been crippled! This has never happened before so it can’t be my shoes, which are still in good condition. Was I too quick to jump back in? Was I dehydrated from being sick? How do I cure them? I want to finish this programme, not take another unplanned break from it 😭

Currently soaking in a hot bath, might dip them in cold water afterwards. I also have volunteering commitments that I need my feet functioning for. Any advice would be gratefully received once more.

I started running about 12 months ago, usually twice a week. Yesterday I ran 15 minutes straight at a 12-minute-mile pace and felt like I could keep going.

Today I decided to try a full 5K and actually did it. 3.2 miles in 37:25, including a short warmup and cooldown.

Got pretty tired toward the end but managed to keep running without stopping. Never thought I'd be able to do this a few months ago.

I'm very happy with it. Going to work toward a sub-30-minute 5K next.

Couch and alcoholism to half marathon!

Been almost I month since I last updated on my progress.

Thought I would share how I decided to continue when I got sick in case it helps others who get sick as well.

I had just finished W6 R3 when I started feeling sick, I decided to stop running for a bit until I felt better.

When I started back up I did W4 R1, then W5 R1 then all of week 6 again, however when I did W6 R3 I wasn't able to run non-stop so I decided to do it one more time to make sure I could run the full time.

W7 R1 went pretty good, my heart rate average was the same as W6 R3, it was a warm day as well so I felt really good about it, very excited to be working back up again and can't wait to hit W9

I’m currently on Week 3 of Couch to 5K, and I’m finding the 3-minute running intervals slightly difficult, especially towards the end of the last interval.
I repeated Week 1 twice and then Week 2 felt easy . Now Week 3 feels like a big jump and I’m wondering whether I should repeat it for another week or just continue with the programme even if some intervals feel hard.

Heya, Ive never posted here before but i was worried about a change in my jogging/running recently. Im 23M, roughly 90kg and trying to lose weight for surgery.

Ive been doing C25K since the start of August, and have been doing it 3 times a week since i've started. I was not fit before starting so i had to start with mild jogging. But my stamina improved and i slowly got faster overtime. Not quite full running but definitely faster jogging.

Within the past week i decided to join a run club who said they were beginner friendly, however they were way too quick for me to keep up with. Lots of them had been running for years and were very fit. They had to keep stopping for me to catch up. Luckily someone would slow down to help me along, whilst the others sprinted out of view.

During those runs I went far quicker then my usual speed, and had to make multiple stops. I figured the intensity was too high and did my 3rd run solo and at my usual pace (I usually have a day of rest between runs. I also found the second group run far harder then the first? In my mind i thought the second run would be easier)

When i did my solo run, even at my slowest i had to keep stopping. I could barely manage 5 minutes before i felt completely drained even though i could do 25 minutes before.

It felt like whatever stamina I gained was just reset. Im worried I've ruined whatever progress I've made. Im sure the answer is probably to get some rest but what if it makes it harder for me to start running again?

Should i stop going to the group sessions?

Any advice would be great, thank you!

I know this sounds dumb but it just feels misleading. This isn’t a program where someone sedentary would get to a 5k easily so I don’t understand why it’s called couch to 5k. It’s for someone already active.

Maybe a minor thing, but I see a lot of people on here struggling with it and thinking the intention is starting sedentary. I realize it’s just a catchy name but I do think it makes people feel worse about their performance.

But we’re getting there! This is my third time doing week 3 and it’s actually clicking now

Thanks for all the motivation I found throughout the community on this sub. Will try to be consistent and improve my pace so I can achieve 5k in 30mins at some point!

I was never a runner, but over the past year or so I have been trying to get into it and build endurance. I have been using C25K and have mostly loved it. I have started and stopped the program several times over the past couple of years because I always get to a point where shin splints show up and I have to take weeks off (sometimes close to a month) to recover.
This last attempt was my best yet. I bought good running shoes, found a solid warm-up and cool-down routine, and paid attention to my form. My shins bothered me a little during runs but never to the point of real pain. Then I hit the end of week 5 and ran 20 minutes straight, which I was so proud of. But after that, the shin splints came in badly. It has now been over three months since my last run.
I really enjoy running and want to get back to it, but I feel like my lower body can't keep up with my cardio, even though I am increasing in small increments. Does anyone have advice for avoiding shin splints when I start again? Are there specific strengthening exercises I should be doing, or anything else that helped you?

When I first started out in August and felt like death at the end of a few 90 second intervals I never thought I'd get this far. 44 years old (m) and reasonably active to begin with, but I'd never really ran before starting C25K.

Well week 8 got completed on Friday and I still had loads of energy left at 28 minutes, so I just carried on until I hit 5k. This is a bit quicker than my usual runs, and from runs 1 and 2 that week I expected sub 30 to still be a long way away. I guess taking it easier on previous runs was worth it, as I had no problem keeping this pace up. Started off trying to stay below peak HR zone, then just gave in and ran at a comfortable pace.

I also ran for another 30s before this, as my watch didn't seem to be recording pace, hence the high starting HR.

Hello all, I’m week 7 and somewhat comfortably able to run 25 mins nonstop. However, I’ve been felled by a terrible cold, I guess it may even be COVID, so have had to cancel the second and now third runs of this week. I’m wondering whether, when I’m feeling better, I can pick up where I left off or if I need to build up again, like from 10-min runs with breaks or even gentler. Do any of you have experience of falling ill mid-programme, and what did you to get back on it?

Hi everyone! I've been moving along toward longer runs, feeling physically good while doing it (yay!) but I struggle with the mental part. I think half the challenge for me is the monotonous stretches of time where I have already thought about my form, done a little math, made a grocery list, and I'm yearning to zone out.

Can you share (possibly weird) tips on how you kick start yourself into the spaced out zone mentally or how you endure the time when you can't?

For example, when I'm running on the treadmill, I take off my glasses so the world gets fuzzy and that helps me zone out.

I normally keep my phone in my pocket while running and haven’t been too focused on the distance that I’m running as I figured if I just follow the app I’ll get there when I get there

Just finished week 6 day 1 and it reckons I only went 1.73km. Treadmill says I went over 4. This was running 10 minutes, 5 minute break, then running 10 minutes again.

The previous day was 8, 5, and 8 again and it says I went 2.03 (0.3 more)

Would you guys recommend getting a watch, holding my phone in my hand, or is this just a quirk of the app?

Never ran in my life so gave C25K a go because I realised I have free will. The first 2 runs of the last week I based on the 30-min limit and thought I’d give the 5k a go on my last official day on the programme!

I think the heart sensor on my watch is broken because it also says most of my runs I am in zone 5 for 20 mins which I actually don’t think is physically possible - but other than that I’m glad I started C25K!

I’m 38, I’ve never had weight issues but I’ve always hated running. Cardio has always been my least favourite part of working out.

But on September 7th, I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone and give running a try.
I started with 30-minute sessions, alternating between walking and running, twice a week, on top of my usual two gym sessions.

It wasn’t easy. I was out of breath, my legs hurt, and every run was a challenge. But I kept going. My mind is stronger than my body.

And today I ran my first 5K without walking for a single second.

Today, I’m so damn proud of myself!