From Couch to 5k to...who knows? About This Page:

[disney_duke]

Strength training will be key in helping your legs along. Squats can be done. personally, I don't do them as it causes too much knee pain. There's lots of other things you can do though. I do (similar to squats) a ballet move, plie's. Seems easier on my knee. And wall sits. Love the wall sits! I recently did a challenge where you start with 20 seconds and every day add 10 seconds till you work up to 5 minutes. Wowzers! I didn't make it to 5 since it did start to hurt my knee, but I did make it up to 2:30. I don't go that high anymore, but I consistently -- read: every day -- do at least 1 minute, sometimes close to 2 minutes. Makes a huge difference in leg strength. Stairs are another good thing to try, up and down up and down, like 20 times or so. Simple stuff to start!

[Tinkerboo]

Excellent excellent - thank yoooou!

[Tinkerboo]

Week 3 Day 1
When: Sunday 11th May, 4.00pm
Where: Promenade by the beach (a different beach!)
Weather: Mixed bag - sunny, light rain at the end, pretty windy (in one direction at least)
How long: 40 minutes (including walking back to the car at the end)
How far: 2.38 miles
What's the plan?: 5m (mins not miles!) warm-up walk then 2 repetitions of: 90s jog/90s walk, 3m jog/3m walk, then 5m cooldown.
How'd I feel physically?: Pretty good at first, though what I hadn't realised was that I had a tailwind this time. "Wow, that three minutes running wasn't too bad" I thought to myself after the first one, "I must be improving!". Yeah, well. Got to the end of the prom, turned to come back and that good old headwind was back. I really don't know what's going on here at the moment - it got all Spring-like and then these last few days we have had proper gale force winds from nowhere. It's very inconvenient for my training!! Anyway, the second section of three minutes running was a nightmare...stumbling along, legs super-heavy, breathing getting harder and harder and harder and I genuinely thought "I'm gonna have to walk, any second now, oh god when will it tell me to walk again, argh...". But I DIDN'T! I must have looked utterly ridiculous but I hung on till the end of those longest-ever-three-minutes. Never have I been so relieved to walk! Because this is a different place I had to turn back on myself a couple of times to cover the required distance/time so some of the time I had the tailwind and it was great and others...well...yes. Let's just say I enjoyed the tailwinds bits a lot more.
How'd I feel mentally?: Apprehensive - three minutes doesn't sound a lot, but remembering how I had been with the prospect of ONE minute, I wasn't going to underestimate it. Started off great, as I said above, but then really struggled with the wind. I need to find somewhere less windy to go if this weird weather carries on! Tiny an achievement as it might sound, I was pretty proud of myself for sticking out that really hard three minutes into the wind and not giving in to the voice in my head going "WALK! FOR GOODNESS' SAKE, JUST WALK!". The view helped as well..


(Sorry, I can't get it to go any smaller!)

Today's cooldown extra bonus run song: I didn't do any extra today, mostly because I was still panting from the earlier exertions...

[Tim Sullivan]

Hmmm, since Tanya already replied with a practical answer...I'll dispense with my smart-assed answer :P

One of the things you should also keep in mind is a day of rest between running days is key, especially when you're starting out. You're doing some major damage to your muscles, and that damage needs to be repaired. The best way is to give your legs a day off between runs to let the repair happen. Your legs will get better at fixing themselves the more used to running they get...I'm constantly reminded about how much my conditioning lagged in the 3 months I was forced out of running. While I'm back doing a 10k run without issue, it's kicking the crap out of me physically, while before I had my 3 month hiatus an 8 - 10km run was my usual daily milage.

You'll get there...part of what the couch to 5k program is doing is not only slowly working your cardio into a lean mean running machine....but also the rest of your body that also needs to be eased into it.

It is so amazing that you're still sticking with it,,,keep up the amazing work!

Tim

[Fortissimo]

You're doing great!

Another way to get stronger is to work on your core. My Tri coach has me do these exercises: 8 week General Strength Progression - Part 1 - YouTube

One of our retired teachers has only gotten faster the past few years in his marathons and he credits the above myrtles as well as pilates. He Boston qualifies every year and just ran 3:27 the past race.

Happy training!

[Amy L]

Originally Posted by Tinkerboo

Week 2 Day 3

Today's question (because I tend to spontaneously think them up during the walking bits!): given that my legs are struggling possibly because the muscles aren't that strong, due to lack of use...what can I do in between C25K sessions to help them? Is it a case of 100 squats on the days in between (please say no!!)? More running? Or would more running interfere with the principle behind the C25K plan?

I say do whatever type of exercise you enjoy! While it is important to cross-train and strengthen your core for successful running, I think it is also important to do something on those off days that you can feel successful at and have a good time doing it.

[Tinkerboo]

Originally Posted by Tim Sullivan

Hmmm, since Tanya already replied with a practical answer...I'll dispense with my smart-assed answer :P

One of the things you should also keep in mind is a day of rest between running days is key, especially when you're starting out. You're doing some major damage to your muscles, and that damage needs to be repaired. The best way is to give your legs a day off between runs to let the repair happen. Your legs will get better at fixing themselves the more used to running they get...

Oh there's no worries there, I definitely do have rest days - one of the things I love about this is that it specifies three times a week, and as there's no way I would do three days in a row my rest days happen automatically. That said, I - bizarrely - do kinda find myself spending them wishing it was a running day instead!! (if you knew me, you would know just how unbelievable this is!)

Originally Posted by Tim Sullivan

I'm constantly reminded about how much my conditioning lagged in the 3 months I was forced out of running. While I'm back doing a 10k run without issue, it's kicking the crap out of me physically, while before I had my 3 month hiatus an 8 - 10km run was my usual daily milage.

That must be so frustrating. If I were in that position I would be in total 'what if...' panic mode: what if things don't get better? What if I never get back to how I was? What if...what if... I'm like that about pretty much everything though - it's something I really have to manage otherwise I spiral into stress and worry really easily.

Originally Posted by Tim Sullivan

You'll get there...part of what the couch to 5k program is doing is not only slowly working your cardio into a lean mean running machine....but also the rest of your body that also needs to be eased into it.

It is so amazing that you're still sticking with it,,,keep up the amazing work!

Thanks - that means a lot. I am just impatient I think...I want to be at the end of the programme and have the results NOW! I have already downloaded the follow-up 10k app ready to go!

[Tinkerboo]

Thanks too Robin and Amy - I suspect my dodgy core might be a big part of why I feel like I'm stumbling along sometimes instead of feeling strong and 'together'. Why have I left it till now to start working on it though? Why couldn't I have realised all this ten years ago and started then?!

I think I'll try a combination of core and leg strength exercises to start off with...there's an app which has been sat on my Kindle Fire for about a year which does exactly that (and more), that I've never opened.

[disney_duke]

I've been working on core too, and it's helping greatly with the posture thing. Give it a go, I think there's only room for improvement, right? I mean, what have you got to lose?!

[Tinkerboo]

It's not so much what I've got to lose that puts me off, as what extra aches I might gain..!!

[Milichal]

Pilates has helped me with my core strength. I actually run faster after class. (Even if all of us teachers think our Pilates instructor is crazy at times )

[Tinkerboo]

Week 3 Run 2
When: Wednesday 14th May, 9.30am
Where: Promenade by the beach (that other beach!)
Weather: Bright and sunny, and no wind!!
How long: 35 minutes (including walking back to the car at the end)
How far: 2.1 miles
What's the plan?: 5m (mins not miles!) warm-up walk then 2 repetitions of: 90s jog/90s walk, 3m jog/3m walk, then 5m cooldown.
How'd I feel physically?: I think the best word would be 'consistent'. As long as I remember to start the first run slowly and not get too carried away, I tend to do better. As the air was blessedly still, compared to recent days, things felt a lot more tolerable, effort-wise and I didn't get nearly as close to the panting-in-desperation state that I was in last time and I was able to run all those sections without too much trouble. My legs still felt pretty heavy though, like it was an effort to keep them stumbling along...even though in myself I felt pretty good. Gotta get started on that strength training!
How'd I feel mentally?: Relieved that the weather has improved and hopeful that the 2 x 3 minutes of running would be easier. They weren't easy but they definitely were easier, which was encouraging. I'm getting better at turning off the 'inner editor' (that one who tells me I can't write when I'm trying to work on my novel, and who seems to also have opinions on my fitness) and tuning into how my body actually feels instead. I realised that I don't always feel as terrible as the inner editor is trying to convince me I do when it's whispering "why don't you stop and walk now? It won't matter, nobody will know..." - when I ignore it and concentrate on left-foot-right-foot the time seems to slip by quicker. Though having said that, I made the mistake of looking ahead to Week 4 when I got home and it wants FIVE MINUTES RUNNING! TWICE!! WITH ANOTHER THREE MINUTES AT THE END!!! Can you say "eeeeek"?!

[Amy L]

You can do it Toya!!!

I thought of another form of exercise that has helped with my running - spin class. It forces me to keep going when I want to quit (or simply allow myself to just fall off the bike and die ), keep focus, and break through that wall.

[Tinkerboo]

Originally Posted by Amy L

You can do it Toya!!!

I thought of another form of exercise that has helped with my running - spin class. It forces me to keep going when I want to quit (or simply allow myself to just fall off the bike and die ), keep focus, and break through that wall.

Thanks!

Classes aren't really an option unfortunately, for a variety of reasons but mostly time and spare money. But I do have an Xbox and a bunch of Kinect games...I guess I need to set myself up a schedule with that!

[Tinkerboo]

Week 3 Run 3
When: Friday 16th May, 6.50am (yes! you read that right!!)
Where: Private road by 'our' beach
Weather: Warm and sunny
How long: 30 minutes
How far: 1.8 miles
What's the plan?: 5m (mins not miles!) warm-up walk then 2 repetitions of: 90s jog/90s walk, 3m jog/3m walk, then 5m cooldown.
How'd I feel physically?: Pretty good, despite it being ridiculously early (by my standards). I managed to eat a banana before going, did my gentle mini-stretching and was bizarrely pumped about going (this is so NOT like me it's unreal). I can only guess that I'm slowly Officially Becoming A Runner. Again, it wasn't exactly easy but it was easier than last time and that - I assume - is how it's meant to be. A little bit less out of breath, still achy-legged but better able to tolerate it. The sunshine probably helped!
How'd I feel mentally?: Great! It's Friday, it's pay day, it's beautiful weather, it's early so there's nobody around and I am ready to beat week 3! Though I was okay with the running today, part of my mind was already slipping aside to start convincing me that "yeah you can do this, but you won't be able to do those five minutes sessions next week". Shut up brain!
Today's extra bonus cooldown jog track: Heart Beat Rock by Kylie Minogue (do you guys know Kylie? I don't know if she is well known in the US )

So instead of a question today I have some amazing (for me) news! Hubby and I were chatting about my C25K and he very tentatively suggested that maybe it would be something he could consider doing. I should probably backtrack and explain that he is 50 this November, several stones overweight, type 2 diabetic using insulin injections (as a result of his weight) and generally struggles to commit to any kind of health plan. His job is moderately active, and he cycles now and then, and walks the dog but otherwise that's it. Time and again I have tried to motivate him - sometimes it works and he goes through a phase of going to the gym (before we couldn't afford it), tracking what he eats and limiting his intake to a set amount, that kind of thing. But other times it just comes across as me nagging and though he doesn't say anything (he would never want to hurt my feelings), I think it makes him more reluctant to engage. He will come up with all sorts of reasons why he doesn't have time to exercise, and because I've never been active, I've never had a counter-argument that doesn't sound like nagging. And because I'm not a great cook, we end up eating the same old semi-unhealthy foods (of which his portions are always too big). So all in all I've been stuck in the position of desperately wanting to help him, but not being able to because he needs to want to do it for himself.

He had been somewhat less than supportive of my recent efforts - to be fair, given my past performances he would be justified in expecting me to bail out of it after a week or so! Not saying anything negative, just not really asking me about it. I hadn't bothered suggesting he join me because I figured I'd get the usual aura of 'naggingness', especially given that he's never run except very short warmups on the gym treadmill. So I could hardly believe it when he was making noises along the lines of "maybe I should give it a go"! I had to try and not get too over-excited and scare him off! It might mean I have to go back to week 1 in order to do it along with him (it's going to take a lot of teamwork) but my god I will do that a hundred times over if this is what it takes to get him healthy. It'd be a dream to be able to run the WDW marathon together!