Hi, obiebyke! Sounds like you've come to the right place then! Glad to have ya and looking forward to hearing from you! Perhaps we can stir things up a bit in this group...

Definitely, give yourself a break while you're getting your running-self back together. Pace isn't really that important on the C25K program, anyway. It goes by time, remember? Taking a warm-up and cool-down's a good habit to get in to. As the program progresses, though, you'll find that the amount of "running" vs the designated w/u and c/d time increases... and you may eventually want to add in your own walking warm-up and cool-down. Something good I'm hearing you say is that you're able to do what's being asked for on the program. It should NOT feel very difficult at this stage. Challenging from time to time, but if you are feeling like it's difficult or something you're not ready for, there's nothing wrong with repeating the week. It took me about 20 weeks to get up to running for 30 minutes...

Just did W3W2, this one on the treadmill i/o dirt track. Felt harder, maybe because my pace sped up quite a bit , even though I was using my standard treadmill settings. I'm still a bit bummed about losing my pace, but psyched that the miles are adding up more quickly. When the miles are done so slowly, I feel a little like I'm cheating by logging them, but I know better. I know every mile counts and that, no matter what my pace, I'm probably more in shape than Ive ever been in my life! The summary: 1.98 miles in 26 minutes even.

That's awesome, justdidit. Nice work. So you're going to keep building endurance for the 8k, huh? I'd be curious to know how you do that. I've been wondering how one continues on from 5k training to bigger and better distances. I'm sure there're threads about it, but I'm not going to look for them until I'm done with my 5k training. Today I did W3W3. I usually run after work, but this time ran pretty much first thing. It sucked! I think it might've been because I'm less hydrated first thing in the day or something. My legs clutched up right away. I could NOT get my calves and shins to relax, so it hurt, but I pushed through. 1.97 miles in 26 minutes. Next week, week 4, is going to be a challenge, for sure.

I don't know exactly when I started over with the C25K, but I did it because I stalled with another program at the 2 mile run. I just couldn't run farther no matter what pace I tried... Anyway, I repeat any workout that I can't finish or that is very difficult until it is just a bit of a push. I'm now in week 7, doing 25 minute runs. My pace is turtle slow, but I try not to dwell on that. I've been a bit inconsistent lately, too, simply because my life is nuts. I home school my kids, lead a Girl Scout troop, and run my kiddies to lots of things like Boy Scouts, Youth Group, and classes/groups through our home school support group and still have to be a wife, maid, cook and blah blah blah! Trying to make me, my diet and my running a priority is a constant battle. As long as I don't quit entirely, I try not to give up mentally So what if take 20 weeks to finish a 9 week program? I'm doing it, and that's more than I could've said a few years ago! I've lost about 35 pounds in the last year and a half, so I'm getting there Gonna run today or, or, or loose my mind!