Saturday, June 19, 2010

Couch to 5 K Running Plan

I was sharing with my friend that I had a desire to run a marathon, or at least a 5K and she shared this website with me. It's called Couch to 5K and is a great running plan from Cool Running to get the average person ready to handle a 5K run. I have just completed my first week and did it fairly easily though the first time really taxed me quite a bit. I am really excited to think that in 9 weeks I may be able to run 3 miles!
This plan is really nice for people, like myself, who have never really been much of a runner. They encourage you start slow and not get ahead. It is alright if you slow it down and take more than a week to move ahead, but they discourage you from moving ahead before the plan recommends that you do. If you try to do too much too fast you can actually hurt your body making it appear too daunting of a task. That seems to be why most people quit and give up.
In starting the program you only do a 20 minute circuit after a 5 minute warm up walk so it isn't any more difficult than any other workout you might do. If you have not given running a try, this may be a great starting place for you. Granted if you do not currently work out at all it may take you some time to build up to where you can complete week 1, but that is OK. Just keep going at your own pace until you can do it successfully. Whether you are starting from literally sitting on the couch or you are someone who does work out but you have never really tried running, I think this is a sensible place to start. I am hoping that I will be running my first 5K this fall!

1 comment:

  1. These old bones won't allow me to run anymore, but I do take them on a brisk walk for over an hour every day.
    I invite you to visit and follow my blog if you wish

    ReplyDelete