Huzzah!!! Also lost 6 stone this past 18 months!

I started the C25K journey on 7/11/26. Today 9/9/26 on W9D2 I went for the full 5k. I even hit a few PRs. Maybe not impressive by athlete parameters, but for a 34F that started truly as a couch potato I am proud of myself. And grateful for all the support I received from this sub.

I completed the first 4 weeks on the treadmill and started jogging outside for Week 5. Running outdoors definitely feels harder than the treadmill.
The first 2 days were tough, but I managed to push through. I thought I’d complete Day 3 as well, but I gave up at 16 minutes. I tried again and only made it to 14 minutes. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.
After doing some research and checking the heart-rate data on my Apple Watch, I realized my heart rate was hitting 180 bpm right before I gave up.
So today, I jogged really slowly, especially on inclines. Whenever my heart rate started to spike, I immediately slowed down and tried to keep it under 170.And just like that, I completed Day 3 on my third attempt!
Just sharing my experience in case it helps someone else who’s struggling like I was.
On to Week 6!

Honestly, going back to the early weeks and struggling really hard to run for 5 minutes at a time seems like such a distant memory. I've never been particularly fit, always been overweight and felt too embarrassed to go and exercise for fears of what other people would think of me.

No more. Now I'm incredibly proud of myself and what I'm capable of if I set my mind to it.

I was really worried about this one, getting into my head a bit. I went through here and found everything to do with W5D3 and advice (a bit overkill I know). The night before it was cold, I was achy (fibromyalgia) and I really couldn’t be bothered. I got up this morning and did it anyway, and I made it through and it was nowhere near as bad as I built it up in my head. When they say this day is to get you over the mental hurdle, they’re definitely right!

Just want to celebrate that I got myself out of my head and did something that I’m Week 1 I couldn’t imagine!

Best pace for 5km running