Couch to 5k?

[tracilicious]

Tomorrow morning Michael and I will be starting the couch to 5k running program. Basically, you follow their program three times a week and in two months you can run three miles.

Assuming you don't have heart problems etc, a person of any fitness level can do this program. Heck, if I can do it, you can probably do it. Anyone wanna join me?

[Matterhorn Fan]

I'd love to try that someday. Now is not the time, but one day...

Good luck! Is there an event that you're planning for?

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

Anyone wanna join me?

No.

But I hope you do well in it!

[Alex]

Half marathon is my distance but good for you! I know a few people who have successfully done the Couch to 5K program. If you haven't already I do encourage you to line up several 5K races. For most people, running (or waddling, or whatever is your speed) is like learning a foreign language. If you don't have anything encouraging to you to keep using it, it fades away.

The Runner's World Race Finder is a good tool for finding events in your area.

[RStar]

I had just started a running program when I had my neck discs gave out and I had to quit. I'm still recovering from surgery, but hope to start back in soon. Of course I have been spending more time on the couch than I use to, so I'm in worse shape than before! So I'll have to take it slow. I advise that for anyone starting cold.

Good luck to you, and hope you can keep it up!!

[Stan4dSteph]

Awesome! I'm already doing the marathon training. There's a link to my blog in my sig! I hope you can get some people to join and all sign up for a race to do together.

[scaeagles]

I like cardio workouts, but I got to a point where I couldn't take the impact of running. I daily do 5+ miles in 30 minutes on my elliptical. I realize this has no correlation at all to running. I could not do 5 miles in 30 minutes out on the street. But it's all about cardio health, and I have a resting heart rate under 50.

[tracilicious]

Thanks for the encouragement all! We went running this morning and I'm alot more out of shape then I thought! I think we're going to try to run five times a week instead of three because I totally need remedial running help. I really love running when my endurance is higher. Poor Michael had to work hard to go slow enough to keep up with me.

I don't have any event in mind, but perhaps I'll take Alex's advice and sign up for something. The fact that Disneyworld has marathons is good motivation to run farther.

[Alex]

If you're really starting from scratch, I wouldn't bump it up to 5 days a week immediately. You're going to experience soreness and tweaks and pushing too hard to get into shape because of how much you're out of it is an almost sure recipe to do some actual damage to yourself and then you won't be running at all.

Disneyworld and Disneyland do have long events but each also has a 5K the day before the main events.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I suppose I don't really count as starting from scratch since I'm never entirely sedentary, but I do find that when I've laid off running for a while and get back into it, it's best if I at least do some light jogging 5 days a week to start. You might want to alternate with a very light version on the in between days, but I agree that at the beginning, taking a day off tends to impeed my initial progress.

Painting and moving has been my preferred method of exercise for a while. Hopefully once that's settled I'll be switching to regular swimming as we now have a swimming pool mere steps away from our front door.