hi guys

i have just started this training program, from the couch to 5k in 8 weeks and have just completed week one. this means that i have been jogging 1 min and walking 1 min and so on for 30 min 3 times this week and its killing me( i know, i know not exactually athletic ) i just can not imaging it ever getting better, my shins are SO sore, towards the end i can barely move my leg of the ground ( looking very odd for bystanders )will it get better????
Also as i have really struggled this week should i maybe repeat week 1 next week instead of moving onto 90 sec run/60 sec walk?
feeling low on umph and 'i can do it' feelings....

hanna, when I started I had a ten week schedule for 10K, but because I started in plenty time before my first race I repeated the first week three times and found I was then able to follow the rest of the programme as per the schedule without any problems. Good luck, it does get better.

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Don

Hi Hanna

Don't give up it will get better as long as you listen to what your body is telling you and take it sloooooow .

Good luck

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NELLIE

It might be worthwhile repeating the first week if you've found it difficult. Going onto something a bit harder might be demoralising if you can't manage it - taking it a bit more slowly and achieving the targets would possibly be more rewarding for you and would agravate your shins less.

I've been experiencing very sore shins recently - I think it may be related to the cold weather, as I didn't experience this during the summer. My advice would be to include(more) stretching and warm up for longer than you have been. This has helped my sore shins.

Hanna,
I followed exactly the same programm almost a year ago and the first run1/walk 1 I found the toughest but yes you do get better. Don't try to run too fast - imagine you are holding a conversation with someone as you run.

A bit concerned about your sore shins - have you got proper running shoes, are you warming up properly and are you stretching thoroughly afterwards?

Keep up the good work.

thanks guys for all your advice i will stick with week one for next week as well and put abit more effort into streching! its reasuring to hear that it do get better.
cheers
hanna

Hold each stretch for 30 seconds

Your post could have been written by me a few months ago. I really struggled with my run/walk schedule for the first few weeks. As has already been said, take it slow and repeat weeks if necessary. It definately gets easier - I'm up to 5 miles now (albeit very slowly!!).

As soon as i got some proper shoes i had no shin splints and my running improved overnight and you really feel it if youre doing alot of road running.

Exactly my experience Ginger.

I no this sounds repetetetetetetetive Hanna!
Proper running shoes do make a massive difference in all aspects of running.
If you don't already have them, I would recommend paying a visit to a specialist running shop so that you can get a pair that will suit your type of movement when running.
There are plenty of websites available with good information too.
Don't be tempted to just pop in to a regular high street sports shop as,as helpful as they are ,they are almost definitely not as knowledgeable, and you could end up with shoes that won't do you any favours.Good luck-stick at it and you will notice some big improvements in yourself.

Hi Hanna,
Well done on starting. Good shoe shop and a gait analysis done in the shop is definitely going to work your first miracle. Interestingly enough, the guys in the shop won't necessarily sell you the most expensive shoe; they sell you that one that suits your running style. It's your most important investment for your new pastime, and shin splints will become a thing of the past.

I only started a few months ago myself, and am now running 4 miles comfortably. I took it slowly at first, and then found that I suddenly upped my capabilities around week 5-6 of the beginner's program. So just hang in there because you won't regret it.

What do you mean by 'proper shoes' Ginger? What is a 'proper shoe' for 'a lot of road running'? I ask this because I haven't found it yet - though I do have a very old pair of fluorescent flat soled Adidas racers I call my 'Yellow Perils' which come fairly close to that description. I've run three marathons in them with nothing more than a blister.
When I first started running, at the tender age of fifty four, I mainly wore expensive Nike and Reebok shoes with built up heels and lots of cushioning - and ran mainly on roads. I think I experienced the whole gamut of injuries, most of which seemed to occur (maybe because I was training harder) just before an important race - pulled hamstrings, shin splints, Ilio-tibial band syndrome, aching knee joints - you name it. Eventually, I became so sick and tired of all this pain I stopped racing for four years.
Nowadays, most of my running and training is done off-road - moors, fields, trails and riverbanks - in fell shoes with quite a low heel. I've also learnt to land on the ball of my foot, rather than the heel. Apart from the transition period, when I'd problems with a ruptured tendon while learning this new technique, I've had no significant aches, pains or injuries since. Consequently, I'm able to train reasonably hard again and give my contemporaries a run for their money if I feel the urge to line up with them for a race.
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!

Cricky, i feel like ive had a telling off....

Sorry if i wasnt clear, Proper shoes (even with my very limited experence in running) to me meant ones you went to a running shop to get rather than just having some of the shelf on the high street which are ones that i used to run in. I always presumed that the more cushioning you had in running shoes the better they were for road running, so ive got some Asics gel nimbus ones. Hey, they work for me.

I'd love to run in the hills but living in London its not that easy.

Cheers.

Sorry Ginger, I didn't mean to sound like that!
I suppose 'proper shoes' means different things to different people of different weights with different styles of running and different 'mechanics'. But I'm convinced all the cushioning in modern shoes which forced me to 'heel strike' was the cause of all the early injuries I suffered.
I still have such shoes kicking around the house but I rarely run in them now. Even in a 10K road race last Saturday I wore flatter Trail shoes - and finished fresh enough for a 7-mile recovery run next morning.
And hey, I know there aren't many hills around London but maybe there are parks close by where you can run off-road?
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!