Couch to 5k

Wowee, so the first day was killer. I felt like I was going to die. My husband felt the same way too. I thought it would be challenging, but I didn't really think it would be as difficult as it was. We'd always done the cardio machines when we went to the gym for 20-30 minutes, so I thought that might make the first day kind of easy. And alternating between 60 minutes of jogging and 90 seconds of walking doesn't sound like it would be so hard, but I was very wrong, haha.

But...right as we were walking out the door to start out walking warm-up, my husband told me "We should probably cancel our gym membership." So, that kind of made me feel better about the money we're wasting by not going to the gym and my lack of motivation to go there as of lately. I'm hoping that means we'll be more motivated to get outside and exercise more. Especially now that the weather is pleasant to be outside. The winter time may be another story, but for now I think we're going to try and take advantage of exercising outside--for FREE.

I've been looking on websites like endless.com, 6pm.com, and zappos.com that offer discounted name brand shoes. So, we may try ordering from some of those places. I've ordered shoes from endless and Zappos before and the free return shipping is nice when/if shoes don't end up fitting properly. I haven't thought to check on Amazon to see how the pricing is compared to other sites. My most recent experience with sneakers confuses me. In high school I had a pair of Adidas cross-trainers (size 7.5 USA) that were very comfortable. I'm typically a size 6.5, but my mom wanted me to "grow into" the shoes. I only wore them for trips to theme parks where I'd need to walk a lot or moving things, etc. Basically, I didn't wear them a whole heck of a lot. So, I kept them through college.When the rubber started to peel back on the toes, I decided to look into getting a new pair of shoes. So, I went to Sports Authority and bought a pair of Nike running shoes in 6.5. But, I could tell soon after that they might not have fit right because I'd experience some numbness on the sides of my feet if I wason the cardio machine too long. And I would get shin splints if I walked too much in them.

So, I actually wore my Adidas (I kept them for "dirty" work since they were still in decent condition) yesterday for my first day of C25K and they were SOOOO comfy! No shin splints either.

So...has anyone read about buying one size larger in running shoes? I read that recently on a running website and wondered if that was maybe my problem with the Nikes I bought in college. I thought this whole time that maybe the style of sneaker wasn't appropriate for me because the toe bed narrows more for a running sneaker than a cross-trainer. Do you guys wear your true size or one size larger for your running shoes?

Also...has/did anyone experienced their skin flushing very easily after running? I have never really been an outdoorsy exercise person, so I don't know if it's something that goes along with true cardio workout or if it's that I'm more sensitive to heat now that I'm on medications. In other threads I've mentioned my increased heat sensitivity since starting medications where I'll sometimes get heat rash. But, this is different. I just get red and splotchy, but it's not raised or itchy. I just look flushed all over my arms, legs, and torso...maybe my cheeks too. Does anyone else experience that? I don't really want to kill myself, if at all possible, haha. I also got a killer headache after we finished running too. My husband said it was endorphins. Anyone else have headaches?

Sorry for all the questions/information. I'm done for now.

Well done Marisa!! I hope it keeps you motivated to do it even more!

I'm not sure with the shoe size. My feet are different sizes from each other anyway, just to make things more difficult! But with the skin flushing.. YES!!! I honestly look like a lobster after every run. My face is bright red and my chest and arms get red too. They do tend to get red when I'm hot anyway, my mum always thinks I've gotten burnt but it's just the heat. Blood vessels rise to the surface of the skin when you get hot to cool down your blood and therefore your body. That's why you probably look flushed.

As to the headaches.. are you sure you're drinking plenty before you go out? Dehydration can give you a headache.

I'm a huge proponent of going to a running store and having your gait analyzed. Your feet/legs/back are too important to mess around with. Buy a good pair of shoes, it will be worth the money. (I saved some money recently by buying last year's model).

When I bought my recent running shoes, the guy based it off of your shoe size at the widest part of your foot. That might be a size up for most people? He said it doesn't matter if there's extra room in the toe box (as long as there's enough room), but it does matter that it fits the other parts of your foot. Does that make sense?

If you feel like you're going to die - slow down! You can keep running just drop your pace a little. It'll come with time.

My face flushes now and it never used to and I hate it! It never occurred to me that it might be medication related... I think my body just isn't as efficient at getting rid of heat. For me it's mostly my cheeks and they feel really hot. After a run I come in and get a tall glass of cold water and press my face with a wet washcloth until I cool down. In any case, I think it's natural. I know it happened to a lot of my peers when I was on track.

Hopefully you don't get another headache after working out. I know that there is such a thing as exercise induced migraine, which you might want to keep an eye out for. But maybe your body just gave you a headache 'cause you did something it's not used to.

Anyhow, nice work, and keep it up!

Well, I'm glad that the flushing seems to be pretty normal

The headache seemed to go away after a bit. It could have been due to dehydration, though I DO NOT SWEAT. I tried to make sure I drank 16 oz. of water right before we ran. I probably should have had more, but we kind of decided at the last second to go running and I didn't have a whole lot of time to drink water. I didn't want to drink too much and feel sloshy or get cramps which sometimes happens when I drink too much and then do something strenuous. I guess I'll have to prepare a bit more in advance next time and make sure I get at least 32 oz. in my body before we go. But, yeah...if it was dehydration it could have been because I didn't drink enough beforehand, but not because I sweat it all out.

What is exercise induced migraine? Is it something that may prevent me from being able to run possibly? I've had a migraine before and it wasn't nearly as bad as that. But hopefully it doesn't happen again next time. We'll see if drinking extra water helps.

A while back last year my husband and I went to a New Balance store and had our gait and feet analyzed when we were thinking of running. I turned out to have neutral pronation and I think he might have been an overpronator. I can't remember if she said anything about our gait.

When I read about getting one size larger shoe for running, I also read that you should have some extra room in the toe bed because it should almost feel as if you don't even have shoes on. So, your toes shouldn't be touching any part of the front of your shoe, which I now know is my numbness problem with the Nike shoes I have.

There is a running store right down the street from us. I was wondering if we should go in there and have someone analyze us again and compare the info we got from New Balance. They might know more than some place like New Balance where it's still a big chain corporation. And I've read the place down the street is often a meeting place for many groups that run 5Ks, school track teams, etc. So, they probably know a lot. And it might be fun to check out their specialty running gear too.

As far as dying...I don't think it'd be possible for me to slow down anymore than I am already going. I tried to slow down as I felt more winded. I think it doesn't help that we're running on the trails which alternate in incline. So, perhaps I just need to stop jogging early and walk if I'm feeling too awful. I didn't get the headache until the very end too. So, could be lack of oxygen too.

Thanks for the encouragement ladies!

Trust me, you can go slower! It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I run slower than I walk (I mean, how sad is that!?). I am NOT naturally built for endurance. But I'm faster now than I used to be.

I didn't mean to imply I thought you had exercise induced migraine. But if you start getting headaches consistently after exercise you might want to get that checked out. It can happen!

It's much better to drink water throughout the day (every day, but especially on days you exercise) than to drink right before you run. Like you said, you don't want to feel "sloshy" and your body can't process the water that quickly to use it during your run anyway.

If you know your foot type that's a good start. It's a pretty expensive mistake to get the wrong shoes. I am a neutral pronator and I ended up with shoes that gave me calluses on the outsides of my feet, because they made me supinate! That was even after going to a shoe store, the guy looked at my previous pair of shoes (the wear) instead of watching me walk/run. Most shoe stores will allow you to exchange if they help you and you end up with something that doesn't work.

I have a feeling I will be walking faster than a job then initially because I was basically at walking speed at my slowest job! Haha. I've never been very good at endurance (or agility for that matter)!

Yeah, I understand you weren't necessarily saying I had that I was just curious if it was different than regular migraines, other than the fact that they are triggered by exercising. I'll definitely keep them in mind...no pun intended!

I definitely drink water throughout the day, but perhaps if I'm going to be running I need to drink more than usual. I guess I'll have to figure that out as I go along too.

I appreciate all the tips and advice from everyone! Maybe this weekend we can go to the running store and see if they have anything else to add as far as the shoe options and other advice.

Oh I think symptomatically they are exactly the same. I mean other than they vary from person to person and migraine to migraine. But the correlation is pretty direct (exercise then migraine) in the people who experience them. I get migraines but not from exercise. If exercise gave me migraines though I would not be a happy bunny!

Yeah, I've thankfully only ever had one migraine in my entire life. I do not envy anyone who gets them frequently. It would be pretty hard to motivate myself to exercise if I knew I was going to experience a migraine. Yuck.

Great work Marisa. The first bit starting out is the hardest.

dreamintwilight said:

Yeah, I've thankfully only ever had one migraine in my entire life. I do not envy anyone who gets them frequently. It would be pretty hard to motivate myself to exercise if I knew I was going to experience a migraine. Yuck.

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Seriously! It's hard enough to motivate without knowing you're going to be "rewarded" with a migraine at the end! Yeesh!

Alright back from the vacation! Sad to say we didn't run once We made up excuses and blah blah, too much rain etc. Anywho will get back to it now. Diesanduhr I will have to try out that site you were talking about with your friend on Google Docs.

With running shoes I went to a place that measures everything. The people there genuinely care about what you are putting on your feet. Most of the time they are avid runner's themselves. I don't go to a store like that any longer because I use the Vibram Five Fingers to run in (trying to go minimalistic). Anyone else run in them? I love mine!

When I bought my shoes I went to a running sore that looked at your running / foot pattern and movements and made recommendations regarding the best shoe for you.

I haven't been out running at all in the past 2 weeks.....we just had a baby on the 21st. Did go out for a walk on Sunday with the stroller though.

Today was Day 4 for us! We actually repeated Week 1 and will start Week 2 on Sunday. Today I FINALLY felt like my breathing was controlled the whole time. This time I tied a wet handkerchief around my neck while I ran to help me cool if (since I don't sweat!). I don't know if it was the combo of the wet rag and the weather being cooler than it was on Monday or if I'm improving, but I barely felt winded by the end of the 20 min!!

We'll see on Friday if it was a fluke or not But I am happy with how today went. And I was really not feeling like running either. Yay!

dreamintwilight said:

Today was Day 4 for us! We actually repeated Week 1 and will start Week 2 on Sunday. Today I FINALLY felt like my breathing was controlled the whole time. This time I tied a wet handkerchief around my neck while I ran to help me cool if (since I don't sweat!). I don't know if it was the combo of the wet rag and the weather being cooler than it was on Monday or if I'm improving, but I barely felt winded by the end of the 20 min!!

We'll see on Friday if it was a fluke or not But I am happy with how today went. And I was really not feeling like running either. Yay!

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That's awesome! Keep it up!

hawkeye said:

When I bought my shoes I went to a running sore that looked at your running / foot pattern and movements and made recommendations regarding the best shoe for you.

I haven't been out running at all in the past 2 weeks.....we just had a baby on the 21st. Did go out for a walk on Sunday with the stroller though.

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Hey walking is good for you too.

hawkeye said:

When I bought my shoes I went to a running sore that looked at your running / foot pattern and movements and made recommendations regarding the best shoe for you.

I haven't been out running at all in the past 2 weeks.....we just had a baby on the 21st. Did go out for a walk on Sunday with the stroller though.

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Aww congrats!! That's amazing news!

I've been out in a week either Had a busy weekend and been working miles away from home. I'm aiming to pick it back up tomorrow.

I forgot to mention...at the end of my run I noticed a funny feeling on the bottom of my shoe. I thought I had stepped in something. Turned out, the sole of my shoe was falling off and flopping around!

Great...I may have to bust out the super glue. We just laid down a good chunk of money on our sick kitty. No extra money for new shoes right now! Haha... It's either that or try wearing my Nike shoes, which I'm afraid might give me shin splints or make my toes go numb. Which option do you guys think is better? LOL

Wow I just decided to make the most of the nice weather and very late sunset and my run was amazing!!! Even though it was speed work it felt effortless.

I can usually tell how well my run is going to go from how my legs feel on my 5 min warm up run and I knew I was going to be in for a good one.

Hope everyone else's running is going well!

Didn't get a chance to go running yesterday because the super glue didn't end up working. We decided to go to the running store down the street from our house today and we both ended up getting ASICS! Woohoo!

Can't wait to run in them later, weather permitting!

dreamintwilight said:

Didn't get a chance to go running yesterday because the super glue didn't end up working. We decided to go to the running store down the street from our house today and we both ended up getting ASICS! Woohoo!

Can't wait to run in them later, weather permitting!

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When I did the gait analysis, I ended up selecting the ASICS Keyano. It's been a great shoe.

I love new running shoes! I was told you should replace them once a year or every 300 miles, whichever comes first, but who can afford that!? I just replaced mine (after two years I think) and I realized just how badly I needed to!

Trying them on in the store I couldn't tell which ones were more comfortable. I was all, "Uh, they all feel like running on pillows."

New shoes are the best! How are things going?

I've run 3 5k's this year and they've been great. However, i'm a little discouraged and have gotten away from running, because of the fact that I had a flare in the middle of my last 5k. I was at mile 2.5 and there were no bathrooms anywhere. I freaked out, and was scared I would have to go behind a bush somewhere. Plus, there were cops everywhere because they shut down a road for the race. I was so embarrassed, and I finished the race without having to do that. But, now I find it happens a lot - I get into the swing of things, start feeling good, and BAM - I have to go to the bathroom. Now, i'm scared to run outside again...and i'm not sure what to do anymore. I don't want to let this control my life, because I used to get so much joy from running outside.

Any advice, anyone?

Thought I'd bump this up. How is the running going? I am just getting back into it during daddyhood, only been out for a run about 5 times since May

Haven't been running at all, been skating quite a bit. Signed up for Vegas this winter though... uggh! First practice is Saturday 8:30 AM!

We had been doing really well. Got up to Week 5 and then the weather got bad and interfered with our running schedule. Then we both got new jobs and we haven't been able to figure out how to fit it into our weekly routine. We did get passes to the local walking track though for days where the weather is crummy. I'd like to get back into it again.

since we just joined Team Challenge Denver, we will be doing A LOT of running prepping for the half marathon in December. Our first group workout is this Saturday at 745AM. Lil early but oh well, should be fun hanging with other Crohnies.

I have also been badly slacking due to lack of time and colds/cough etc. I am still going to kettle bell class still though.

Think I'm kind of slcking as well because I know I'm going to have to give it up for a good few months in oct

Misty-Eyed said:

Think I'm kind of slcking as well because I know I'm going to have to give it up for a good few months in oct

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Why do you have to give up in Oct?

Because that's when I'm getting my panproctocolectomy done. Strictly no strenuous exercise for 3 months.

Just hope I don't loose too much of what I'm achieved so far!

Did 4 miles last night at an easy pace (10:30min/mile) and have to run for 45 minutes tonight...going to see if i can keep it closer to 10:00min mile.

Sticking to the walking this week. Went out for 2 hour long walks and will try to get out for a run on the weekend.

Yay everyone! Thank you so much for giving me hope that I will be able to make it further than the washing machine!! I used to run 3x week and I miss it so much!

Whew just got back from labor day vacation back in Nebraska. Went for my required hour long run :0/ So i decided to run my wife's parents to my father's who lives out in the country. I was able to make it, but had to run past his house because my hour wasn't up. Ended up running 6.26 miles in one hour with strong cross/head winds. Longest I have run in quite some time!

Running in Nebraska doesn't count.. there are no hills! Quite literally!

Congrats though, that's an impressive milage for an hour!

Did the guts and glory run for the ccfa in ocean city nj in August, finished in 33 minutes, very proud of myself, my first 5k. Shannon

Shannon-

33 min is a great time for your first 5k

Misty-Eyed said:

Running in Nebraska doesn't count.. there are no hills! Quite literally!

Congrats though, that's an impressive milage for an hour!

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There were hills in the beginning, luckily it flattened out...but instead of hills i had 20-30 mph winds :/ Wasn't able to run at all last week with late nights at work then the prep for the colonoscopy, colonoscopy then drill for the military. Now I get an endoscopy...that pill thing is HUGE!

Did 3 km in 20:35 tonight with a good helping of hills

4 miles today. Slower than the power walkers, but I was out there.

diesanduhr said:

4 miles today. Slower than the power walkers, but I was out there.

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Wow great job. Wife and I ran for 45-47 minutes yesterday. I had a week and half off and I am feeling it today. My pace was slow in the second half but first half i was doing about an 8 min mile for 3 miles...then flat out died! Ended up at 4.27 miles.

I started Couch to 5k yesterday. If I can keep running through the stomach cramps I think I'll be able to finish. I'm super out of shape...like never exercised out of shape. I've been affraid of losing weight but I'm sure not gaining any sitting around doing nothing either. You guys are proof that crohnies CAN stay fit! Thanks for the posts.

Yes lilbit! Even before my surgery there were days when I would double over in pain every few minutes during a run. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but there are a lot of times we look ridiculous...

Good luck with the Couch to 5k. Keep us updated with your progress. Just starting is something to be proud of!

How you doing guys?

I started running with Team Challenge, but I was getting irritation on my bum so I took a couple weeks off in case the running was causing it. Turns out my bum is just irritated.

So now I'm starting back at square one. Tonight I tried out the newfangled machines at my apartment. The treadmill has an option where you can set your heart rate and it will adjust the speed to keep you there. It shut down twice on me because I exceeded the goal by too much. You would think it would just slow you down for a while, but nope! You're done. So I'm not sure exactly how far I ran tonight but it was hopefully somewhere around three miles.

There's a new derby league closer to where I live. I tried them out last night and they were very nice. I am tired and sore.

Whweww....good to see this thread start up again. Just getting back into it here also. Haven't had the time to run between work, the little guy and everything else. I was out twice this week for 2-20 minute runs and managed to do 2.5 k and 2.7 k. I ran 2 and 1's (run for 2 minutes and walk for a minute) as I am trying to get my endurance back up.

Awesome, keep up the good work. I am tired today so I'm resting.

Starting this today!! I always end up burning myself out when i run, so this looks like the perfect way to really ease into it! Plus, it'll be easier with all the support on this forum

Yay! Good luck. Keep us updated with your progress.

Went out at 7:15 this morning - managed to do 3k in a little over 21 minutes. Nice crisp morning -4 deg. Cel. just cold enough for a t-shirt and medium weight fleece.

Nice! I keep meaning to run outside again but somehow I never get out there before 7 p.m. at which point it's been dark for quite a while.

I was up at 6:30 for a feeding with the little guy so I decided to go out early and get the run done. I was out twice in the evenings earlier in the week, not only is it getting dark early, but it can be a bit harder mentally after a long day.

Yea, exactly. When the weather is nasty it's so tempting to stay in bed under the warm blankets too (on the weekends at least).

I'm getting frustrated with these treadmills. It only gives you 30 seconds before it erases your workouts if you pause it! But it does let you save to USB. So my workout is saved in three different parts (I had to pause it to run to the bathroom). D:

I've started a resistance training regimen too. It's not very exciting right now but hopefully I can spice it up once it becomes routine. I love to bench press and I was very excited to find a machine that doesn't require a spotter.

Nasty weather - Boxing Day last year - I got up to run downtown with a running group that my wife and I sometimes run with - the car slid down the driveway and I had to park on the road - the driveway was too icy to back the car into the garage. I took this as a hint and parked the car and went back to bed.

Managed to go out this morning and do 2.8 k in about 20 minutes. I am still doing 2 and 1's but might try running for 3 minutes and walking for a minute this week. I kind of ran in a group this morning with my wife who is getting back into running as well and someone noted that given my pace I should try the 3 and 1's this week. Ran on a harbourfront trail this morning - weather was great about 10 deg. C (51F) but windy - 25 mph winds.

I ran a bit on the treadmill last winter at the gym after work, it wasn't bad - just not as exciting as running outside. I may try some core training with stretch tubing, I did a bit of this last year and it seemed to help.

Got out a couple of nights this week and did sets of run for 3 minutes, walk for a minute.Got between 2.5 and 3 k done both nights.

Winter has hit, got 25 cm (10 inches) of snow here Wednesday,

Keep it up hakweye...it will pay off huge! Wife and I started running doing 1x1, 2x1 etc After a few months she is now doing 8x1 and I was able to do 8 miles without resting. I have since injured my leg and am doing 1 mile walk 1 min for the half marathon this weekend, but were talking about it last night just how much we have improved in relatively short time. The weather and time change has messed with us and unfortunately don't run as much as we should, but we get out enough to maintain our current conditioning.

Thanks. My goal is to keep working at it and get back to 10 and 1's again.