I’m about to start week 3 and I just want to check something… does everyone start out being absolutely terrible at running? 😂 I’ve seen you all in the park and you seem to glide around like you’re on springs. Whereas I feel like I’m punching holes in the pavement with each step! 😂
I tried C25K a few years back and had an immediate knee injury in week one and gave up. Struggled with my mental health recently and have always wanted to run, so have started the journey again - but with proper shoes and on a grass circuit and this seems to have helped the knees get used to it.
There’s just one thing that keeps bothering me. I really struggle with early burning and fatigue in my calves. It’s not the breathlessness that I struggle with but what seems like either weedy little legs or poor technique. Is this normal or common? Will it just improve as I do longer runs? Should I start building up the muscles here with any specific exercises?
I really want to get through the course this time and 30mins continuous running seems so far away right now! Any advice greatly appreciated!
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SpookyDoc
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Sounds like you are doing great, it takes the body a while to get used to running, don't run in pain but a few aches are just building your runners body.Some good advice I had was do squats, just 10, while teeth brushing, didn't think I'd get to 10 the first time, but it seemed to stick, that helps build muscles. I can do 100 now, but it's boring so 10 here and there through the day. I also do heel raises, stand on tiptoes and back down, a few times.
Mind you I'm.a terrible runner, so take my advice with a grin or not.
You're definitely not a terrible runner SueAppleRun . Not the fastest, but so determined, positive, and kind. For me that's more important than style, pace, distance or vertical any day.
Well done SpookyDoc because you ask the kind of questions that I would (and did) 😊 When I did C25K I actually googled 'How do you run?' After starting in Nov 2019, I haven't stopped running.
The most important thing is to keep running....consistency really is everything and I feel that without this running is much, much harder and therefore becomes harder to enjoy. This is why people seem to run effortlessly or easily to you. Behind the runner you see maybe 5000 miles of previous runs. As you run, you gain so much experience in so many areas: shoes, socks, kit, fuel etc etc and you never stop learning 😉
You can strengthen with squats and calf raises which are super helpful. As a mental health advocate I understand how beneficial running is. Here's a hard reality though...you have to take things steady and trust the process. Do C25k and then consolidate before going for 10k and then beyond (if you are interested) because this way you can run for years and years.
Running isn't for everyone and so many people stop start or run here and there, don't prepare for runs properly (rest, hydrate etc) and wonder why they don't match their intentions.
If you keep going and are consistent, and in time build distance to a level where distance becomes your choice then it'll be such a wonderful thing in your life.
You can then run anywhere, anytime and any distance 😀
I'm making two assumptions here: 1, that you've (re)read the How to run C25K guide, and 2, that you're medically qualified, which I'm absolutely not!
So at risk of telling you what you already know, you might find this post on the Toxic Ten helpful: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
Also, if my calves are feeling tight and ouchy (NB I don't mean properly pulled-a-muscle painful, just uncomfortable) I find trying actively to relax and divert my attention helps. I've even been known to say out loud "Relax, it's fine, it'll go away in a moment." There again I run alone in the countryside and am weird. Your tolerance for talking to yourself may well, understandably, be much lower than mine!
You can't possibly have seen me running in the park, no one would ever say I glide around on springs...nearly ten years of running and I still clomp along like an elephant...
I ran without my headphones once and realised how much grunting and huffing I do apart from from my feet thumping the ground!! Never again - headphones always 🤣
You may already do this, but if not, brisk walks on your ‘rest days’ may help. I walked lots before I started C25K & I’m convinced it helped to prepare me & my legs. Good luck with the rest of the program 😊
When I was out for a run in particularly warm weather, someone stopped me and asked if I was ok because I looked like I was about to have a heart attack and would I like a lift home!!
I don’t think many of us feel particularly elegant most if the time. Even when I’m feeling at my most gazelle-like, when I catch my reflection in a shop window I’m anything but! I’ve described my running style as “drunken octopus”, “broken doll with all the limbs screwed on too loosely” and “over enthusiastic Labrador”. You’re most certainly not alone!
As you move through the programme, you’ll most likely find the calf soreness improves as you get used to running. Strength and stretch for them is always a good plan. I find what helps most is keeping generally active, walking or swimming on non-run days to help with the soreness. It’s a fully thing that moving when you’re a bit achey can make it feel better, I’ve also got into using foam roller and massage balls to loosen up my legs. See what works for you and don’t worry about doing everything.
Yes, don't worry - you're doing fine. I nearly packed it in after my first few runs as I was completely wrecked! I've been away for a bit so am going through C25K again, and I'm remembering what it was like. Just take it easy and it will come to be second nature.
Heel drops to loosen calves definitely help. I actually had very painful calves BEFORE I started running and they are very rarely an issue now! Make sure you warm up before and warm down after your runs. Good luck!
Back in March 2020 I thought I was relatively fit. I was totally wrong.
I started Couch to 5K using only the app.
I didn't know what I was doing. I wore totally inappropriate clothing. I tried too hard. I found it so difficult. I was wheezing. My knees complained.
Due to various factors I had to abandon C25K twice before getting through Week 2 and didn't restart until July that year. But that time, by the third week I was hooked.
Exactly one year later, with many miles of running under my feet, I re-did that first session of C25K. It was so easy!
I’m also on week 3, having completed my 5th or 6th run today as I was struggling with the increase! Think I did a lot better today though and definitely understand the mental health thing! I feel so good for persevering, despite being apprehensive about going out.
Earlier in the programme my calf was a bit sore and continued to be so for a few days so I didn’t run again and every time I go for a run now the first time I do one of my running intervals I do feel a bit of a twinge and the same calf, but then it seems to go away. It reminds me to keep us a brisk walking pace, seems to help (sometimes I go to slow, because I am tired!)
Do you do the pre and post run stretches? I also do yoga and Zumba on other days which probably helps. Both strengthen the legs.
I also worry about being too bouncy. during week three (I listen to Sarah). She gives you a bit of advice about the running technique, she says if you were running alongside hedge and somebody was on the other side, they shouldn’t be able to tell whether you’re walking or running, reminding you not to be too bouncy. But then I was really concentrating trying to figure out how to stop being so bouncy!
I was a year into starting before I could run longer than a couple of minutes at a time. For that year, I ran for a minute or two and then walked for a minute, and kept going for 20-30 minutes per session.
After a year, I read on here to try slowing the running pace, and I was soon running without stopping. My running pace is around 9-10 minutes per kilometre, so very slow. I'll never be able to do 5K in 30 minutes, but I can now run slowly for 30 minutes.
As an older runner, slow running reduces the risk of injury. I don't intend to speed up, as I've had enormous health benefits of running slow and low for 20-30 minutes three times a week, and for me, this was the point of running.
Not everyone will run smoothly and fast. I never will... so good luck and keep going!
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update - week 3 complete! 
Week 3 complete in 3 days
End of week 3 check in
Week 9 Run 3- completed✅
Week 5 run 3 failed :(
