My Couch To 5K Pointers

I moved in out of the cold this week and started running on a treadmill for the first time. It felt kind of like starting over. I had gotten to a point where I was finishing 3.1 miles in 32 minutes pretty consistently. My run on Monday was 36 minutes and I only made 3.02 miles. I had set the machine for 35 minutes and it shut off on me with less than a tenth of a mile to go.... I figured it was a sign to stop for the day. I'll set the machine for 40 minutes today just to be on the safe side.

Since it feels like I am starting over I thought I would share the wisdom I have gleamed so far from learning to run.

I have not been using a Couch to 5K plan but here is what has worked for me. Most of this is common sense, but maybe it will help some of you who are just starting down this road.

1. Start walking for the first week or two. Work your way up to a couple of miles at a really good pace. Once your legs stop cramping and hurting, add a little run. But keep it short. No more than two minutes at a time to begin with. Even :30 seconds. This is not something your body is used to doing.

If you can only do 1 or two minutes of running out of your half hour walk that is fine.

As you feel more comfortable running start to add more running. Run for a minute or two, then walk for 5 or ten minutes then run again.

Using this method I have worked up to 20 minutes of running during a 32 minute outing.


2. Try to stretch the first run as long as you can. In the first two months I worked up to a 5 minute run then a two minute walk and another 2 minute run to complete the first mile of my course. After that I would alternate walking and running as I felt comfortable.

Now I am able to run an 8:30 minute mile for the first mile... and every once and awhile I can stretch that first run to 12 minutes.

If you have a few days rest try to really push the first run. That is how I eventually made my mile.


3. Get good shoes! You will save yourself a lot of pain and suffering.

Tony
11/7: 220.6 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
.6 lbs. to go

My 5k Plan or How I Learned To Run 5,000 Miles

Wait a minute. 5K doesn't stand for 5,000 miles. Well then I can do this thing no problem.

Yup I'm joining the ranks of the 5k hopefuls.

Seems like everybody is jumping on the Couch to 5k bandwagon lately, including me. It's easy to see why. For those of us on a healthy lifestyle journey, being able to run 3.1 miles is a symbol that we are doing more than just losing weight. For me it will be proof that I have truly changed my life around.

I decided a while ago that one of my goals was going to be to run a 5k with my dad someday. I didn't make it public because I wasn't sure how realistic of a goal it was. Once I finally brought the idea up to my Dad it turns out he had been thinking the same thing. He asked me to run the Maple Lake St. Patrick's Day race with him. Maple Lake is a small little town in Western Minnesota where my parents have their retirement home. It's a enclave of Irish pride!

As I have said before, my dad is kind of an exercise nut. For some reason it is not a gene that I inherited from him. Although, looking at it now, I am starting to realize just how much of our bonding moments growing up centered around some kind of physical activity. My Dad and I have always enjoyed doing things together like snow skiing, water skiing, softball. Things I am glad we can share again and the kind of things I hope to share with my daughters.


I have decide to finally announce my 5k plans because something major happened yesterday.

I ran a mile... for the first time in my life!

Even in high school when they made us run a mile I had to walk at least a quarter of the way.

This is a major break through for me. And gives me hope that I may actually be able to do this. I ran the mile yesterday in just under 9 minutes. And I managed to finish my 3 mile outing in 32 minutes. Almost 5 minutes off my previous best time. Now my goal is to continue building up my stamina until I can run the whole 3 miles.

Until yesterday, I had very little faith that I would be able to work up to a three mile run by March. Now I know it will be a challenge, but one that I have at least even odds of being able to accomplish.


I have been thinking lately about why I decided to try this. I am doing it because I want to share the bonding experience with my Dad. I am doing it because I want him to be proud of me. I know he already is proud of me, but I want to prove to him that I can do this. And I am doing it for myself. To prove to me that I can do this. Here's hoping I am right.

Tony
10/9: 228.6 lbs.
Goal: 220 lbs.
8.6 lbs. to go