Couch to 5k

I was recently in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and witnessed quite an interesting spectacle. I was in town helping my parents with an office move and some computer issues and I just happened to stick around long enough for Coeur d’Alene’s annual Ironman competition.

When I first heard about Ironman, I thought those people were crazy. I told myself I’d never ever want to do something like that, and that those people were just weirdos who craved some sort of punishment in their lives. After seeing the diversity of age and fitness within the competition, though, I started to think differently. It was actually quite inspiring to hear the different stories behind these people’s attempts, which ranged from extreme medical conditions to obesity. All of these people were brought together on one day to test themselves more than to compete with one another.

Now I’m not saying you’ll see me out there next year, or even the year after that. What I am saying though is that I’d like to take better care of myself, get into better shape, and maybe think about doing a tiny portion of the physical exertion required in that competition at some point in the future. I can’t ride a bike over a hundred miles, swim over 2 miles, or run over 26 miles. That’s the point. They can do all 3 and I can’t do any. That got me thinking about running. Running is something which I absolutely despise, yet I envy people who can run and enjoy running. I’ve never been great at it, so I decided to work myself up to the task. Enter Couch to 5k.

I figure that if I can go through 9 weeks walking/running 3 times each week and make it until the end, that is both a good thing for my fitness and a good test of my willpower and my ability to stick to a plan and make it my own. Here are the details of my plan:

I’ll keep you up to date on my progress as I go forward in the process. So far I’ve only done 1 day (tomorrow is my second day) so I have a long way to go before I’m finished. By all means let me know if you’ve had any success with this and if you’d like to share your story on mindreap.

Keep in mind that I didn’t invent this plan, and you can see more about it at Cool Running and Couch to 5k. One thing I think I’m going to try to do is to listen to some of these Couch to 5k podcasts which are floating around. I know some of them have music and then tell you when to run, when to walk, etc. It sounds like a pretty good way to concentrate on motivating yourself and the running/walking itself rather than having to stare at your watch or something the whole time. Here is a list of podcasts lifted from Couch to 5k:

Robert Ullrey’s C25K Podcasts
Podrunner Intervals: First Day to 5k
Lestyn’s C25K Podcasts: No Music
Couch to 5k – Christian Indie Tracks
Phedippidations: The C25K Episode
C25K App for iPhone