I bought a Sole F-80 treadmill off Craigslist in January and started C25K the week after I bought it.
On Week1,Day1 I ran more in 30 minutes than I’d run all of last year. It’s only getting better.
Mostly in week 1-3 my breathing has been the limiting factor. As a child I had asthma and exercising triggers it. I exercise, I get short of breathing.. I start to panic (my asthma was -really- bad as a child and my head/body start to panic at the first sign of constricted breathing) and then I either drop the treadmill speed or gimp it and dangle off of the handle bars.
Our story so far:
Started on Monday January 31, 2011. I do C25K on Mon, Wed, Fri and walk/jog free-form the other days. My walk is at 3.0mph and run is at 4.0mph. I know it’s painfully slow.. but I figure I can be faster after I can do it for 30 minutes at a time.
Week 1 was fine, no problems. Did it 3 times.
Week 2 was ok. The last run was difficult but not hard. Did it 3 times.
Week 3 was hard but got easier over time. I did this for 6 weeks for a total of 18 times. In the end I’d says it was 80% easy.
Week 4: in progress
Week 4, Second run-through:
- 5 min Warmup
- 3 min run
- 90 second walk
- 5 minute run: At the -very- end I was checking to see how much time I had left.. but I did run the whole way and didn’t hang on the handle bars.
- 2.5 minute walk
- 3 minute run
- 90 second walk
- 5 minute run: my legs were feeling tired and I gimped this by hanging on the handle bars. That said.. it wasn’t my breathing holding my back this time… my legs were very tired. I have total hope that I’ll be able to get my endurance up much quicker than I did with week 3.
- 5 minute cooldown
