First off, I just want to thank everyone who has been reading my fitness blog. I know it isn't always written well and I kind of go all over the place sometimes. I really appreciate all the support I have been receiving. You all have motivated me to keep going even when the going is rough.
I had a friend ask me if I have ever used a couch to 5k program and I have heard a few other friends talking about doing a couch to 5k program, so I wanted to talk about them for a moment. I have done several different 5k programs in the last few years.
4 months after I had my son I wanted to get into shape. I used this couch to 5k program. It is a 9 week program that takes you from the couch to running (well jogging and honestly I don't understand the difference) 3 miles. I really liked it because it started out really slow--running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds, alternating for 20 minutes. Honestly, when I started it that was almost more than I could handle. Jogging and walking for that 20 minutes was agony for me. I am sure there were times when I ran less than 60 seconds and walked more than 90 seconds. And I am not sure that I ever finished the program. Excuses always came up to keep me from running. This is a good program if you haven't been physically active in a while.
Last fall when I was preparing for my first 5k race I did this 4 week training plan. I had been working out more regularly and was in better shape when I started this program. Here is what this plan looks like:
On the first day of this 5k training plan it says "run 2 miles easy". I'm not sure what that means but I know I took many walking breaks. I did stick with the program this time around. I think it helps when you actually sign up for a 5k race and have a date that you want to finish the program by. I did ok with this program, but I didn't push myself as much as I should have.
Side note--through running for the past 8 months I have really come to find that a big part of running is mental. If I think even a small amount that I will not do well on a run, I usually don't. Even on my 4 mile run on Tuesday I was thinking a little negatively and I did horribly (even though I ran 6 miles on Saturday in almost the same amount of time). My advice to you is to give positive encouragement to yourself and focus on the accomplishments you are making.
The half marathon training program that I am using now has you starting out at a 5k running level (meaning being able to run 3 miles without stopping). I decided to do a 5k training program to prepare for it. this is the program I used to get ready for my half marathon training program. I even found a free 5k to run. This program worked really well for me since I had been doing P90x prior to starting the training. I liked that you ran for like 20/25 minutes during the week on on Saturday you actually ran a certain milage. This last 5k was my fastest one so far.
There are so many 5k training programs out there. Do what works for you. If you are training on a treadmill you can try this couch to 5k treadmill plan. You also don't have to stick to the plan. You can adjust it to work for you. In my most recent 5k training I changed my running days from Mon/Wed/Sat to Tues/Thurs/Sat so that my husband could run with me. I completely moved the days around in my half marathon training program to work around my family's busy schedule. It is ok to tweak the training schedule. And don't forget to stretch!! That is really important so that you don't get injuries. Stretch really good after you run. Youtube has a lot of stretching videos if you need ideas.
"No one cares if you walk, they only care that you cross the finish line". It really is ok to not be perfect. It is ok to have set backs. We are only human. We can only do our best, and our best may not be perfect. I hope these programs are helpful to you. If there are any other questions about going from a couch to 5k let me know and I will do my best to answer them! Happy running!
-Kate, your not-too-fit guru
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