Why I quit Couch to 5K

daddyratty

I'm new to this site, and new to running.

Well, kind of.

I ran a few years ago for a few months, and then kind of quit. Weather was partly to blame (we had smoke from nearby fires from mid June all the way to late August). A little over a month ago, an email from my running inspiration - my brother-in-law - got me back on the bandwagon.

Part of the issue is my weight (I'm 276 pounds right now). I know that I can't really push myself *too much* at this weight, lest I do long-term damage to my knees and other joints. However, this is not an excuse to not start, so I began running on January 24.

I started with the Couch-to-5K program, and this has been a great on-ramp for me. My brother-in-law (a 100+ mile per month runner) recently showed me a training calendar created for him at runnersworld.com through the "Smart Coach" feature.

On the feature, you input:
Your age
A recent pace or mile time
How hard you want to train
How many miles you currently run per week (even 0)
What event you're training for
When the event is

It then spits out a training calendar with 3-4 runs per week (at least this was the case with me).

My recent mile pace that I gave it was 12:17, and I'm training for a 10K on May 7. I was expecting a much more aggressive uptick in pace, but it has me running the event at a 12:03 pace, even though it's 11 weeks away.

And this was on the "very hard" training setting.

I'm very impressed. It's not trying to kill me, but it mixes in a variety of short/easy runs (2-3 miles), some speed work in a few weeks (for me right now, "speed" equals a half mile in about 5:30), and long runs on Saturdays (including an 8-miler the weekend before my 10K).

As I near the 10K, I'll be extending the calendar for another 10K I plan to run near the 4th of July, and then maintaining for awhile while I focus on losing weight before going for much tougher events (which I eventually plan to do).

So while I quit C-2-5K, I have not quit running.

Hopefully, this is just the very beginning.

SamiSamiBoBlammy

Is this for beginner runners?

I've just completed C25K day 3

kcdrake

Oooh, I'm interested in this. I've always wanted to run but I've had trouble finding a routine that I've been able to keep up with. The slow build up of this might work better for me.

Randee75

Bump!

daddyratty

Yes, I feel pretty confident saying it's for any level of runner. I've only been running a month or so and have a really good program. The paces on many of the runs are such that I could mix in plenty of walking, even though I'll still aim to run for most if not all of them.

I dropped out of C25K right after Week 5 and went to this. It's just a little more long-term which I like since the 5K won't be my end-all.

You can use a 5K race as your desired target (likewise a 10K, a half-marathon, and many more lengths). Your calendar can also be as long as you'd like.

angebean

Great inspiration and a good website. I am gonna check it out.. Thanks!

daddyratty

It's definitely a "build-up." Even on the tougher training settings. I start running 6 miles per week and by early May I'll be running about 12-15 a week.

I only jumped ship a couple days ago but think the world of it already. I'll be interested to hear how others fare, what they think, etc.

backinthenines

There...

http://smartcoach.runnersworld.com/smartcoach/new_plan.jsp

I think you need to become a RW member to use it.

daddyratty

You do need to become a member, yes (sorry I didn't mention that). But that, too, is free.

Murdog

It appears that you've found what works for you. That's awesome. I am personally, just coming back after a year layl-off. Nothing wrong, praise God, but complacancy, and lazyness.
I had lost some weight after running a 1/2 marathon in spring '08, then just sat down, and didn't get up for a year. I got back up for about 5 months, then sat back down. Now, I'm back at it. I want to try to improve my quality of life now, not just run a race ( though, that was an awesome experience!).

Best of luck to you in your running and your persuit of a better well being.

-Jeff