WOOO!!! I'm just seeing this but I LOVE the couch to 5 k, and mr. robert ullery is my secret internet boyfriend (only he doesn't know about it!

) I have been doing the couch to 5k since like april or may... and I'm only on week 7, BUT I had to come to accept that as a wife/homemaker/mother to four/digi designer... that I can't ALWAYS stick to the program as much as I'd like... there are weeks I don't run (rare though) or weeks I can only run a day or two... and even weeks when i TRY to run, and I haven't eaten/slept as much as I should have and I end up walking.
BUT I'm getting better and better, and I feel more fit probably than I ever have in my life! I ran my first straight 25 mins last week and I thought i was going to cry with pride (it was about 2.5 miles, so I seriously kicked booty!). My body totally shows the difference too (heres a
pic from the weight loss thread) - so if you are just starting, TRUST ME, its worth it!
Um a few tips I'd say are:
1- don't be too hard on yourself, if you need to take two weeks to adjust to one of the new increments than do it... this isn't a race, or some sort of time sensitive goal - instead it is about becoming a stronger person and a better runner.
2- eat and sleep! seriously, a new thing I'm learning about being a "runner" is that you NEED your calories and your rest to have the stamina to really run.... other wise you will kill yourself out there.
3- this one surprizes me every time... but sometimes I really struggle with a week, and repeat it and still feel discoraged because its still hard for me... but when I just move on to the next week, I surprize myself... It's like I got into a rut or something, and it makes a big difference to move forward and see what I'm capable of!
Running is seriously one of my new loves... it is amazing to like head off down the pavement AWAY from my house... I feel so free (if only for 35 mins! but still!) and it also gives me a real solid chunk of uninterupted time where I don't have to do anything but be with my own body and my own thoughts... I think it is better than any therapy I've been to
Good luck to those of you starting out! I'm rooting for you!!!
Maybe we need to have an ssd 5k run!!! LOL (all three of us or whatever

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