Thursday, April 17, 2008

Couch to 5k AGAIN

Everywhere I turn, I am seeing things about the couch to 5k. People are all over this. Including me. I don’t know what it is either. I hate running. I hated running for PE in school when they made us do it yet here I am. Planning to run a half marathon. It’s like I have been taken over by martians or something.

I also notice that many of our readers are using this program as part of their workout. I hope you all are taking advantage of the daily workouts that we have posted here. I have been doing them every single day for a week now. It’s not quite as good as Jillian but it’s a nice add to what I am already doing. In any case...back on track...Couch to 5K.

I started with the 7 month program. I didn’t think I could handle the more aggressive 4 month program. Didn’t THINK that I could handle it because I had asthma when I was little. I still feel like a whimp when it comes to doing anything remotely exerting. Apparently my bod has other plans though. I was bored stiff with the walking part of the 7 month program. So I rewrote it myself. I also tossed around the idea of creating podcasts for it so I could stop watching my watch like a hawk to know when to run and when to walk. Then...I foundGypsie sent me the link to this site.

This site hosts the entire couch to 5k program on podcasts. You can download them to your ipod , your mp3 player, or just put them on your computer and hit the play button and be off. They are organized on the site by week. The music on the podcasts gets you going at the right pace and the guy that put them together gives you voice prompts when its time to run and when its time to stop. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. My life changed. My workout changed. My attitude changed. I actually love to do the running now. AND I am not bored stiff. I do not whimp out. I do not have to stare at my watch the whole time. I simply put on my IPod and get on the treadmill.

Since I started using his podcasts a week ago, I have cut my mile down by 3 minutes. I don’t really feel any different during my workout either. I realize that I just wasn’t pushing myself at an appropriate pace. Now, I don’t have to think about it. I also realized that the workout on his podcast is the 4 month program. I am at the end of week 1 right now. I think I may try week 2 and see how I do. If I am gasping and sputtering, I will simply stick with week 1 for another week.

If any of you are using the couch to 5k, or thinking about starting the program, I would highly recommend using the podcasts. It makes it so much easier. I know that I am loving it.