Couch to 5K running plan...has any tried it?

[katerkat]

Ha ha, just kidding, apparently! I tried 4.6 for five minutes and that was all I could manage. So much for making the distance - I'll be lucky if I can make it to a 5.0 pace by the end of Week 9. Why am I doing a 12K??

 

[contempory4me]

Katerkat- that is one ambitious goal! Good luck, you will be surprised at what you can do!

I'm on W4D2 and have my pace down to 14.58, YAH!
I like the graphs on coolrunning.com everything is showing improvement, pace, distance, all except my weight, AARRRGGGHH!
I'm going to need to quit WW as my weeks are up and I can't afford to renew. My money has to go to summer swim team for my kids. I'm hoping as time goes on the weight will start to "fall off"
Any suggestions?

 

[plgrn]

This is what I figured, pace-wise:

W7D1 - 4.7 (today! )
W7D2 - 4.9
W7D3 - 5.2 (should be at 5.4 to complete 2.25 miles)
W8D1 - 5.4
W8D2 - 5.6
W8D3 - 5.7 (should be at 5.8 to complete 2.75 miles)
W9D1 - 5.8
W9D2 - 5.9
W9D3 - 6.0 (three miles in 30 minutes!)

Now, if I collapse in exhaustion around Week 8, will someone run Bloomsday for me?

I did W9D1 yesterday and discovered 30 minutes only gets me 2.6 miles. Clocked it on my cars odometer. Gonna have to do some speedwork!

 

[contempory4me]

plgn- that's a good pace, according to the coolrunning graph its a pace of 11.32 You are doing great!!

 

[katerkat]

At this point, I'd be happy to get to 2.6 miles in 30 minutes.

I bit the bullet and registered for Bloomsday today - on the very last day of registration. I actually didn't have a panic attack as I signed up! And even better - on the way home I was really hungry, but instead of stopping at Burger King, I stole a couple apple slices from my son. Mcuh better choice!

 

[legallygoofy]

Thanks for the motiviation.

I am logging off the computer right now and going to the gym to start the 5k plan. My child told me tonight in a very kind voice that I need to "reduce." Broke my heart and then I went and ate. That doesn't fix anything does it?

Here I go......to the gym and not the fridge.

 

[plgrn]

Broke my heart and then I went and ate. That doesn't fix anything does it?

Yea....I'm guilty of that myself. Food is just so comforting to me and I enjoy it so much! Running helps keep the weight in check since I'm only 25, but in a few years I'm going to have to add a diet plan onto the exercise.

Hang in there!

 

[legallygoofy]

I completed Day 1!!!! I plan to do some combination of yoga, abs and walking on the off days. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[contempory4me]

welcome legallygoofy!

This is a great thread, I just finished week 4. My pace is down to 14.47

 

[legallygoofy]

Thanks for the welcome. I completed w1d2 last night.

What pace should I be aiming for? The jogging part is easier on my legs than the walking. But walking is easier on my lungs..... I have been doing the treadmill and walking outside off and on for the last year.

Anyway, my pace on the treadmill is 4.6 for the minute jog and about 3.6/3.7 for the 90 second walk.

I know I could not maintain those paces outside.

Have an awesome day.

 

[contempory4me]

"What pace should I be aiming for?" seems to be a common question. I had it myself a few weeks back. You can scroll back to see the answer that I got, basically its whatever feels right for you.
I like to graph my workouts on coolrunning.com and have had a personal goal of under 15 min/mile so IF I did ever decide to run a Disney race, I could w/o getting swept.
Just keep going, it seems to get better as the weeks go by. I like the way wk4 flows. I'm a little worried about getting bored on the longer runs.

 

[corinnak]

I can not believe I just finished w8d1. It seems like this time has just flown by. For the first time I used the heart rate monitor that my treadmill has and it was interesting to have that little bit of info as well. My HR kept going up through the first 10 minutes, and then I decided it was getting a bit high, so I reduced speed, and it went down a little and then back up again. I did that two more times, and found that I was more comfortable while running the full 28 minutes, but by the end, I seriously could have walked faster than I was running. I am SURE that is not the point, but it is a little on the depressing side to be SO slow. I'm sure I am improving incrementally in that cardiovascular department, but the improvement is not so visable as it was during the intervals.

In other news, my husband is going to try the program. He needs to start exercising, and I thought for sure he would choose a walking program to start with. Hopefully he will like it as much as I have.

I feel like I am getting to the point where I should transition to running outside at least sometimes - in preparation for the race on the 13th, you know. I am addicted to the info on the treadmill a bit, and think I might want to get a Forerunner before too long.

Also, can anyone say how much more difficult it is to run with a jogging stroller than just hauling your own self along? It would be me and an additional 33 pounds of scrawny man-cub!

 

[katerkat]

I *hated* running with the jogging stroller. Himself was cranky, it was unwieldy, and pushing is a lot harder than just running! I tried it once and I'd rather get up early and run before my husband goes to work!!

I'm a little disappointed - I took two days "off" (no running, no cross training) because we were traveling, and I could barely make it through a 15 minute run this morning, much less 25 minutes!! I can't believe how quickly I "lose" it when I'm not keeping up with the cardio every day.

 

[o2bacelt]

I fell off the wagon but an starting back today. I'll probably start from week one again just because it's been awhile and start working back from there.

 

[kimwim8]

I am addicted to the info on the treadmill a bit, and think I might want to get a Forerunner before too long.

I just got the Garmin Forerunner 205 [amazon.com has a rebate right now] and used it for the first time on a walk today (on my lunch break). LOVE IT!!! I walked 3.65 miles in 1 hour and 3 minutes. I can't wait to run tomorrow morning and see what it says!

Oh, and I haven't been around much because I was wishy-washy with my running and felt sort of like a hypocrite. I'm not following the couch-to-5K exactly, but am building myself back up to running a solid 3 miles straight. Yesterday morning I ran 10 minutes, walked 4, ran 11. I'm getting there.

Good luck all! You're doing GREAT!!

 

[corinnak]

It seems we are all coming to a crossroads or are at a crossroads or something.

My own personal crossroads is this:
I feel like I have been dumped now that I am past the intervals. Just thrown in the deep end and told "There you go. Just keep doing that a few minutes longer each time. And I feel like I CAN run 28 minutes in a row without stopping, but I am either running faster than I can breathe for OR running slower than a fast walk, and so why don't I fast-walk, right? And if I run faster, my cardiovascular development isn't there. My leg muscles are there, it seems, but not my heart and lungs. I felt like the intervals were giving them a chance to work hard and recover and now it's just WORK HARD for a long time, and I end up having to slow down a lot over the course of the 28 minutes.

I am thinking I might just be better off running the 5K in 3 legs. Run for 12 minutes, walk for 3, and repeat until I am done. Or something like that. Today, I decided to be BOLD and blatatly take walking breaks. In the middle of week 8. I know! But I took a short walking break after the first mile and when I felt my breath had slowed enough - under 2 minutes, I ran some more, straight through the end of the 28 minutes. Then I walked a little while and tacked on another 5 minute run after that. In the same amount of time as the other work out, I actually increased the distance covered up to 2.75 miles, and my usual is 2.5.

What do you all think? Am I having a rebellion? I might not be taking this approach if I weren't thinking about that 5k just around the corner. Do you think there is some unspoken benefit to being able to run straight through without stopping or is it just an impressive thing? I am beyond thinking I will be impressive, and I think I would rather run a little faster and take walk-breaks than run the whole thing at 3.5 mph.......cause truthfully, I could walk it faster than that.

Other than that, things are going pretty well! My knees and feet are feeling good. I am down a whole 10.7 pounds. Spring is here. I am going to have to get one of those rebate-ready forerunners. Thanks for the heads up, Kim! I am not sure if I want the 205 or 305. The HRM on my treadmill is what got me to realize that I was WAY into the penthouse of my heart rate range, and I probably SHOULD slow down. However, those under-bosom monitoring bands are not the most comfortable - I have a little chafe from the treadmill one. Maybe it would chafe less if I were less fluffy, and I guess heart rate is good info to have. But I don't know. It's $50 more.....or something like that.

Sorry about the long ranty post.

 

[katerkat]

I know how you feel! I'm not having much problem DOING the 28 minute run...just the distance. It's a little frustrating knowing that THEY think I should be running, what, 2.75 miles in the 28 minutes, and I'm barely getting 2.6 with the warm-up and cool-down included! There's no way I'll be at a 5K in 30 minutes pace by the end of Week 9 - and I'm running a 12K in less than two weeks!! (It doesn't help that my friend is four months post-partum and running a 5K in 34 minutes.)

For me, I focus on the fact that I *am* running and I can maintain a healthy run for nearly 30 minutes, even if it's not nearly as fast as I'd like. I always knew I'd be walking some of Bloomsday because, well, 12K!!! So I'm OK with that. And my calves look super great, so that helps, even though I haven't lost a pound or an inch off my waist or thighs. (sigh) And I actually enjoy the running, which I never thought I'd say!!

 

[corinnak]

For me, I focus on the fact that I *am* running and I can maintain a healthy run for nearly 30 minutes, even if it's not nearly as fast as I'd like. I always knew I'd be walking some of Bloomsday because, well, 12K!!! So I'm OK with that. And my calves look super great, so that helps, even though I haven't lost a pound or an inch off my waist or thighs. (sigh) And I actually enjoy the running, which I never thought I'd say!!

You're right, of course. The fact that we are running, and for nearly 30 minutes is the miracle here, isn't it? Incidentally, I can't imagine running a 5k in 34 minutes! I know that isn't a super-fast time for the distance, but it is so much beyond where I am right now. It sounds like your new-mother friend must be quite athletic!

The races we are signed up for are going to be such amazing, fun events - the important thing isn't whether we run the whole thing, slow down for walk breaks every mile, come in last or don't finish at all (unforseen circumstances being what they are), the point is that we get out there and have a good time celebrating the joy of movement, right?

Oh - speaking of losing inches, in spite of losing over 10 pounds, I have to say that my waist measurement is the same. Which is kind of a bummer! I have been taking it off other places, it seems. My waist is determined to be thick. I did not measure my thighs when I started. More the fool I. But here is one for you - the sleeves on my shirts aren't binding anymore. Which is SUCH a blessing. A bunch has come off of my face as well, as I can see from looking at pictures from January, which wasn't even my highest weight.

 

[corinnak]

So, in need of some evidence of positive change aside from numbers on the scale, I looked at some photos from our January Disney trip. I winced at these photos at the time, and am not actually going to post the full pictures. But anyhow, I took one today of myself - it's not good quality, but I am wearing the same shirt and I think it makes it clear that my face has changed in the past 4 months. What do you think? A little different, right?

 

[katerkat]

Oh, wow, that's a big change! You can definitely see it! Good job!!