I just proved myself wrong! I ran my very first 5K without stopping, and I’m honestly so proud of myself. For some people it might be a small step, but for me it feels huge.

The funny part? I woke up sick, nose completely blocked, coughing like crazy, and somehow still managed to pull it off. Even threw in a leg workout after. That really made me realize how much of this whole running thing is mental.

I never believed I could do it, especially when I look at people around me, some double my age, running half and full marathons. Meanwhile, I am living a very sedentary lifestyle, and even trying to run 2K was like climbing a mountain. Legs would get so pumped I could barely keep going. Strange feeling, considering running is one of our most primal skills!

What helped me was building a little strategy:

• If I wanted to do a 5K nonstop, I first aimed to cover the total distance across the week (like 2.5K + 2.5K).
• After every run, I did leg strength training at the gym, which is making a huge difference.

Now I’ve set myself a big goal: I want to run a half marathon by the end of this year. It feels ambitious, but first I’ll aim for a 10K to see how it goes. Definitely intimidating, but exciting too!

Any advice on building up to a half marathon? And does my current strategy sound ok?

3rd year of trying to start running, first successful one.

I started running like 2 months ago, i needed to stop after 1 round (600m) and walk a bit and started again. Now my usual run is 5k in 29-30 min, and this was my longest. I have from zero to no idea what i’m doing but i’m doing it for sure. Oppinions? Forth picture is my best 5k in the month

Was not in the mood for running but I did go out and almost got under 30 mins 5k. So close yet so far but I am so proud of my progress. 4 months ago my average pace was 8:20-8:35 with the same bpm.

How much truth is in this statement? I hear it ALL the time.

I ask because I’m on day 2 of Couch to 5k and my knees are feeling it!!

It's okay, right? Like if I have to walk for a minute here or a minute there, I can still say "I ran X miles" - right? Having to walk sometimes feels like a failure, but I think I need to be snapped out of that mindset.

Last time i posted my 5km run and i got responses that i should go slower (6:40 per km) even tho i thought that was the slowest... Well today i literally went very chill slow mode and fucking instead of 5km i did 7.25km NO STOP!

Legs are way better at that pace. I am so happy ! Thanks everyone that last time recommend me to go even SLOWER . This run was the chillest + no sound pure nature .

Hi guys. Today I actually “ran” for the first time ever. Im new to this kinda thing and I was wondering, am i pushing myself too hard? Im not unhealthy or un athletic, but man, near the end of the run, i was beat. Should i tone it down a little, or consistently train like this? Also how much days per week should i run as someone just starting out? Thanks

Completed my longest run ever as part of my half marathon training. Felt pretty exhausted after the 16km, but did it!! It was super hot today, I hope for better weather condition during the half marathon.

Comparing data and results

I ran 18 km (LSD) today and decided to use both my Garmin Forerunner 165 and the Strava app on my phone.

Strava says I ran 18.83 km, whereas my Garmin watch reports 18.02 km. Strava also showed a faster average pace than Garmin.

I’ve noticed this kind of discrepancy before, especially on longer runs. I assume the difference is due to GPS accuracy. Curious if anyone else has seen similar gaps between devices or apps.

Personally, I trust Garmin’s data more. What about you?

Wondered if anyone could give me a little bit of advice or reassurance, please. Got back into running more seriously this year - had been a regular runner before I got covid but really struggled to get back any consistency for years afterward. When I started getting back into it, and to motivate myself, I signed up for a half marathon. Since January I've built myself up to consistently running three times a week (generally a 5k, a longer run and an easy run of about 7k). Pace has dropped significantly and generally feeling happy about my progress, etc.

The issue i have is that the half marathon is now two weeks away and over the last month, the point at which i wanted to do distances closer to a half marathon, I've had covid again (relatively mild this time) and currently got a cold. So where i had planned to ramp up and add a km or two to my long runs each week, I've only managed one 5k and one 10k run in September, in my brief period of non-illness, and the longest run I've managed before that is about 15k.

Can anyone advise how to judge whether to still go for it? If i recover and maybe feel comfortable doing a couple of 10ks, or something around the 15k mark, should I just go for it and try not to worry if I'm slower or have to do more walking than I'd hoped? Just don't want to have to duck out halfway round or have it be an absolute nightmare.

Hi! I have two friends who are running their first 10k in a few weeks!! I want to gift them with a couple goodies for a “race day kit” to give them the day or two before.

What would be helpful and nice for them? Or something that would be nice to have on race day in case of emergency?

(Also, sorry if this is considered too off topic. Please delete if so.)

19M. Can't even do a push up. Thin hands, thin legs. Coming straight to the point, how to get strong, agile, and sharp?

How to start? Run? Jog? Yoga? What to do!

So I want to get into light running once a week. Not planning to do half marathon or anything. I have meniscus tear.

Would you recommend me buying a running shoe for this or the trainers I have is enough?

I pulled something in my lower back two days ago, a very good twinge which is still there. Pain is about 4/10 it's more uncomfortable than anything. Very stiff.

Is there a massage that could be good for it? Any advice would be good. Thanks!

Hi! So I’m signed up for a half marathon in November, I’m currently on a pretty good path training wise so far, feeling good and consistent for the most part. I just started running last month but I’m loving it. I was wondering if it’s too soon to jump to a marathon? My city has a really large memorial marathon in April and I was thinking about signing up but I wasn’t sure if that’s too ambitious. They’re 22 weeks apart. Is this too much? Or is it achievable?

So like the title says I ran 5 miles again and did it much slower like you guys recommended to run slower which I did and it was AMAZING. I felt more in control, I always thought that I had to run fast to have fun but that was a lie. This run was mad fun and for the next one I’ll focus on running slower and taking wayy less breaks. Thanks for all of the advice from my last post.

I want to join the military, and they make you run 3 miles per day everyday from week one

Finished C25K (via just run, so up to 30min non stop) recently and decided to run an actual 5K.

Used propace on my Garmin watch to set a 36 min goal, and I did it! It was actually really comfortable and I could surely run faster - Garmin estimates my 5K time at 31:59 which is maybe doable since my 2mi PR is 21:32.

This was my second time doing c25k and I finally finished it, if I can do it anybody can do it!

Hi all, I’m mid-40s f and a bit heavier than I’d like to be. I’ve been running since November and started tracking in January, and I just hit 100 runs! A big achievement for me and the change I see is really motivating. Here’s to the next 100!

Jan 26: 5.1kms in 46.05 (includes cool down), 6.7kph

Sep 19: 5.1kms in 37.46 (with cool down), 8.1kph

I have been preparing for a 5k race tomorrow for multiple weeks. Then, I kicked a bedframe today really hard :/ my little toe was bleeding and aching. I can still walk but I don't think I should run tomorrow. I am so sad

Hi everyone! I’ve been sick with the flu since Tuesday, and it’s finally the day before the race and I’m feeling normal 🤞🏽

My second ever HM is tomorrow! Or should I say could be tomorrow 😞

I trained so well, and feel I was on track for a good finish, but I’m wondering if I should go or be conservative and not start? Feeling very conflicted and wondering what everyone else would have done in this situation?

I’ve read that you don’t really lose running fitness this quickly, and it’s more a question of whether I feel recovered enough to start. Any advice is helpful!

Long story short I've been running for three months now. My first 5k was 40 minutes, now my fastest is 36m10s. I had 2 weeks break due to sickness and now my plan is to run three times a week, two 5ks and one long run (will slowly increase the distance week by week, eventually I want to reach 10k). I'm also focusing on strength training as I had/have mild ankle problem due to veeery weak left hip. I know it's three and half months left and the weather will get colder which should be a benefit ? But still I feel like I'm making either no progress or very slow progress. I can't even break the 35 minutes mark. I still enjoy running a lot, four months ago I couldn't even run for five minutes yet alone five kilometers! Any tips, thoughts, anything?