Hello everyone! This post, once again, is directed at the Resolution Runners (are you doing Day 2 today?). I have a post planned for those of us starting half marathon and marathon training, so don’t go anywhere!
I’m so excited about the Resolution Runners Group (10!) that showed up on Sunday for the first day of Couch to 5K, not to mention the 2 that I know of that are playing along at home. I’m also excited to announce that there will be a second round starting January 15 to catch anyone who may still want to start in time to be ready for the Shamrock Shuffle 3K and Race to Read 5K!
I wanted to have a post that new runners can go back to access helpful hints and websites for Couch to 5K. So here it is!
- Know the lingo. Couch to 5K is often abbreviated C25K. And the specific days are abbreviated too. W1D1 = Week 1 Day 1. (I’m sure I’ll abbreviate all the time.)
- the Program. The program originated from CoolRunning.com. The program we are using (if you started January 1) is in this post.
- You will need to commit 30-35 minutes (depending where you are in the program) to teaching your body to run.
- Each week has 3 different workouts. (Ex W1D1, W1D2, W1D3.) Some weeks, all 3 will be the same. Some weeks Day 3 will be different.
- If at all possible, have a rest day between each workout. Rest is important. You can cross train (walk, bike, yoga, etc) on your off days, just give your body time to get used to running.
- Don’t look ahead too much. You don’t want to psyche yourself out.
- It is okay if you have to repeat a week. But only repeat if you can’t make it through the runs. If you can make it through, but it is uncomfortable, keep going. Trust the training. It works. You can do it.
- Those of you that started January 1 have a few extra weeks tacked on to the end to increase your running. This is so you’ll get a little closer to the full 5K distance during the training. The intervals are exactly the same.
- While you run. I’m a little jealous of all your current options. I used a stopwatchfrom a big box store and had to do the math myself.
- Here is a breakdown of the running time so you can use the program easily with a stopwatch or a treadmill.
- This is the official app of the program for your iTouch or Smartphone. (There are other apps out there that look similar but the program may be different due to copyright.) It is what I was using on Sunday. You can set it to play over top of your music and the volume will decrease so you can hear the audio “jog” and “walk” cues. It keeps you from having to think about it.
- There are a variety of podcasts available that place the cues over music. They are easy to follow and can be downloaded onto an MP3 player. I’ve used this one by Robert Ullrey that is over nice dance music. These C25K podcasts by Suz have a variety of musical backgrounds. I haven’t used this one (described as Christian Indie music). I also know nothing about these by Running into Shape, but thought I’d throw them in anyway.
- You may want to keep a record of time or distance that you run. I love this. I think it is really fun to see the numbers add up.
- You could use a notebook or a calendar. Handwriting is fun.
- I use DailyMile. It is kinda like facebook, but you record your fitness activity and your friends can comment. I love the support over there. And lots of LexRunLadies are already over there. (Friend me as KrissieB and I’ll hook you up with other Ladies.)
- At the group run the other day, several of you mentioned that you were trying to lose weight. I track my calorie intake and burn over at myfitnesspal.com. It looks similar to Daily Mile. You can keep your food log private or make it public for ultimate accountability. (I’m KaySeeBee over there.)
- Trust your training.It works! And we have stories to prove it.
- I dug out my posts from my first 20-minute run and my first 5K.
- Ann loved her first 5K at the Race for the Cure.
- Lydia rocked her first 5K at the Black Cat Chase.
- And Kristina offered wisdom from the half-way point of the program.
- Reach out! Ask questions here, on facebook, on twitter. No question is a stupid question. We’ve been there. We remember.
Good luck! You can do this!
Happy running!
~krissie
