Couch to five K

I can't believe it has been over a month since I posted my first and only post. I've found myself reading a few other blogs and I just don't know how these people find time to write and write and write. One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to work on my writing, communication, and computer skills. With that thought in mind I am going to commit myself to more frequent posts. Enough about that and on to the fitness stuff.

While searching for articles on fitness and health I came across a website called coolrunning.com. On this website I found a running program for beginners called couch to 5k (c25k). Essentially this program is designed to take a person from a couch to running a 5k in 9 weeks. I currently am in the middle of the fifth week and I love this program. I recommend it for anyone who is considering running but isn't sure how to go about doing it. It makes you progress slowly enough so that you should be able to avoid injuries. It is also challenging enough to hold a persons interest over the 9 week program.

There are two resources that I have found invaluable to progressing through the c25k program. First is a free podcast on itunes called "podcasts for running" by Robert Ullrey. These podcasts allow you to turn on your ipod and just go. Mr. Ullrey tells you when to run and when to walk so you don't have to constantly look at your watch. He also has set the podcasts to music selections that seem to have a decent beat to match your running tempo. The music may not be my cup of tea but these podcasts are so perfect for the c25k program that I cannot prop Mr. Ullrey enough for putting them out there.

The second resource is the message board on coolrunning. I found a few other people who started the c25k program the same week I did and it's nice to have other people to talk to about the successes and failures of going through the program. It seems like there are new groups starting every week so finding someone starting the same week you are should not be a problem.

I stated earlier that I was in week 5 of the program. There are three running days to each week. Today's run which was day two, consisted of a five minute warm-up walk and two intervals of eight minutes running and five minutes walking. I really didn't think I was going to get through the first 8 minute segment but five minutes in I guess I found my stride and finished the first interval strong. The second eight minutes was harder and there were moments that I thought my heart was going to explode. My Nike heart monitor watch assured me that my heart beat was under my max heart rate so I was able to just gut it out.

Day three's run is scheduled for Saturday. This is supposed to be a five minute warm-up walk followed by a solid 20 minute run. I'm looking at this day with a lot of nervousness but then I didn't think I would be able to finish day one or two this week either. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.