Couch 2 5K

I forgot to blog about starting this but I'm now onto week two (I completed the first of the three runs yesterday). Oh my god I ache everywhere! I find jogging/walking quite difficult. I get shin splints, my ankles are ridiculously delicate and I tend to fall/stumble quite a lot but I'm still going for it!

So the premise of C25K is that it can get you from the couch to running 5 kilometres or 30 minutes in 9 weeks. When I first heard this my first thought was, yeah right! I can't run for more than a minute without turning into a wee sweaty beetroot!

Both last week and this week (and I'm assuming for the rest of the program) you start with a brisk 5 minute walk then head into the interval training. Week 1 was 60 seconds of running then 90 seconds of walking. This continues for 20 minutes then another 5 minutes walk to cool down and you are done!

The first week I felt like I was breathing fire. The 60 seconds running were lasting minutes and the 90 seconds walking was over in the blink of an eye and I was off attempting to run again. I should probably point out here that my 'running' probably isn't running, it's more a flumpy, jiggly, jog but I don't stop and that's the main thing!

In total I think we did about 8 sets of running and walking. The first 2 runs were ok, I had my energy and the runs weren't too hard. The next 6 runs though were fucking torture! My shins hurt, my thighs ached, my feet were really sore and my lower back kept twinging. I never slowed down though, I was running really slow but I never stopped or just walked. I powered through it and by that last run I felt fantastic! I had a wee spurt of energy and managed to speed up just a tiny little bit and get that last run done.

Look how much I love C25K!

This second week is 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. I was gobsmacked when Muj told me. 90 seconds of running? I was barely coping with the 60 seconds! However once we set off I just kept thinking that is was only an extra 30 seconds. 30 seconds, what's that?

Because we were running and walking for longer than last week we got round the course a lot quicker than we usually do and I felt like tiredness didn't hit me till further along. Of course with my luck, it hit me on a hill. There aren't many hills on the course but the couple that there are, we always end up having to start running at them  and I am awful at running up hills. And down them. And running in general! I'll get better but for now I'm a total noob!

Like last week, I got a wee spurt of energy on the last run and managed to keep my momentum going, a couple cows even decided to join us which was freaking hilarious. They seen us coming and starting running along too. Muj went to go see them but I forced myself up the last hill (she caught up with me in seconds!).

After this first run of week 2, Muj and I both commented on how we felt like we had exercised but not as much as last week. My body calmed down a lot more than last week and we felt so refreshed it was amazing. I can't believe how quickly my body is reacting to this.

My face obviously didn't get the memo though. Ever since I can remember, my face has gone bright red when I exercise, I used to get so embarrassed, especially in school but now I wear my sweaty face with pride. I know that I've just kicked my own ass and I'm proud of that.

The next two runs for this week will be this evening and Sunday so there are a couple days between each one to give us time to recover although I get really bad delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMs as they are commonly known) and my feet are currently covered in cuts and blisters from attending an event on Tuesday after my run and stupidly wearing heels (you can read all about the event tomorrow if you're interested!).

I'll keep you all updated as I progress through this program, but I seriously can't see me running for 30 minutes in 7/8 weeks. I hope I am proved wrong! ;)