What I learned from completing a C25K

A couple of years back, I was super fit. I worked out every single morning, it set me up for a good day. It made me feel strong – not just physically but mentally too.

Then life happened, my workouts were vetoed {thanks abusive relationship}, I ended up pregnant, single again, and exercise was the last thing on my mind as I worked on just surviving.

Then a couple of months into lockdown, I realised that I was just coming up with excuses as to why I wasn’t exercising. I was stuck in a rut. Comfort eating to fill that empty hole inside me, hating the last bit of baby weight that clung to me, feeling like a bit of a failure.

So I sucked it up, dug out my running shoes, downloaded the C25K app and quit whining. For eight weeks I went out three times a week. I didn’t miss a single run. Even on the mornigns when i didn’t feel like it, I showed up.

It was tough. Any previous fitness had long since left me, and those first few runs were tough. Not impossible, but the thought off ever being able to run 5k without stopping {or dying} seemed impossible. Yet I kept it up. I followed the programme, and slowly over the weeks, I began to feel the benefits.

Those 90 second walks turned into three minute walks. Then five, then eight, then ten. Eight weeks on and I can run for a solid 30 minutes. I pushed myself a little every workout, just focusing on the next few minutes at a time when I felt like I couldn’t keep going.

Eight days ago I completed the programme, and I’ve been out for three runs since – even fitting one in whilst on holiday. For me, running isn’t just about being fit physically. It’s not about weight or how I look. Running gives me headspace. Time where I can just be.

Completing the C25K programme has taught me that I can do anything i put my mind to. That goals can be achieved, one run at a time. Breaking them up into manageable portions means anything is possible. It reminded me that I am strong enough and driven enough to achieve whatever I put my mind to.

Yes it feels amazing to be fitter than before, to be able to run for more than a minute without being out of breath, for those last few pounds of baby weight {and lockdown weight} to melt away. More than anything though, I run becuase it makes me a better person mentally. It clears my head, eases my anxiety and makes me stronger.

I went for a run yesterday morning, 6k on a Sunday morning. I had an audiobook playing, and I can back feeling like I could conquer the world. For someone who has struggled all of her life with feeling like I am not enough anything, that feeling is indescribable.

I had a goal of simply being able to run a 5k. What I got was a belief that I can smash any goal that I set myself. That is priceless.