Ten Tips for Success with the Couch to 5K

I posted this in my blog on Sunday but thought it might be useful here on the forum. I apologise if it replicates an earlier topic. I had a quick look and couldn't see anything like it. Also, a big thank you (and credit where credit is due) to all of the fabulous people out there who responded to my earlier post and offered the advice that I took to get me to the end.

First of all I just want to say I am certainly not an expert on running. However, I have just finished the Couch to 5K running program and I would like to share some of the things I learnt along the way. This is just my experience but it might help someone who is just starting out or thinking about doing it.

1. Start off slow and go even slower if you need to.
I thought I was running slowly but it turns out I could, in fact, go slower and not actually stop! I had a crisis when I reached running for 25 minutes but after a plaintive plea on the forum, I took the good advice, slowed down and I haven’t looked back since and really feel that running is something I can (and want!) to continue doing. And as that great saying goes, “No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everyone on the couch!” Get to the end of the program, find yourself running 30 minutes and then think about increasing your speed and distance.

2. Don’t expect it to be easy.
As someone pointed out to me in the forum, the most valuable things we do aren’t. However the term “couch to 5K” does make it sound like an easy ride (or run in this case). It does take effort, it will hurt sometimes and you will wonder if you are, in fact, capable of it. You will, however, be overwhelmed by a wonderful feeling of achievement when you complete each run!

3. Repeat a week if necessary.
If you do find a week (or a run) really taxing, there is no crime in repeating it. Do it over and over again if you need to until you feel confident going on to the next level. Do however, push yourself a bit because you can do more than you think you can!

4. Be ready to run.
There was a review on the iTunes App Store about the C25K app I use which gave it a poor rating and said it was hard work! Well, yes! It is hard work (but is that the app’s fault?) and it needs more basic levels (also not the app’s fault as this program was around long before the iPhone!). If you find the first run too hard and/or you really are coming straight off the couch after months (if not years) of doing no exercise, you might start by just walking half an hour three times a week (or less – start where you are at). When you feel you are ready you can then run between this lamp post and the next, for example. Again, push yourself a bit because you have to overcome some mental barriers doing this as well as the physical. It won’t take much time at all to be ready for the first week of the C25K which is alternating one minute runs with one and a half minute walks. If you have to stay on this for a couple of weeks, who cares? You are making progress and that is all that matters – and you are still lapping everyone on the couch!

5. The first 10 minutes is the worst!
I always found the first ten minutes of running the hardest. I don’t try and push myself too much in the first part of my run but after about ten minutes I can feel that I have loosened up and am into the groove a bit so I can pick up my pace a little. I am never afraid to run slower again though if it is feeling too hard going again – or I reach a hill!

6. In the beginning my legs wanted to give up before my lungs!
I found that, in the first weeks, my legs were not acclimatised to running so that it was ache in my legs rather than running out of ‘puff’ which was the biggest challenge to overcome. Stick at it for a few weeks and your legs do get stronger and used to the activity of running. Even though I had been walking for a long time until I started running, I found the motion of running had a different impact on my body.

7. Breathe.
Some of the advice I was given when I hit my tough patch was to focus on my breathing. Deep, rhythmic breathing does help. I’m no expert on this but I’m sure there is a wealth of information in the internet to guide you. Also look for information on good running form.

8. Use an App or PodCast if you can.
If at all possible, I recommend using a Smartphone app or MP3 for the C25K – and there are a number of them out there. I tried to do the program a couple of years ago without having the app on my iPhone. I used a stopwatch and a mental list of what I had to do. I found it really difficult to do this way. Having to check the time all the way through was really de-motivating. Nothing knocks your confidence like feeling as though you’re about to drop and seeing that you still have 30 seconds (or a minute or whatever) left on the clock. With the app (I used Get Running) I found I could forget about the time somewhat and distract myself with my music or the scenery.

9. Run out and back.
If you are running outside I recommend finding a route that you can run which is either out and back or around a big enough loop that you don’t have to go around and around time and time again. My bad day was when I ran around the oval while my family was playing soccer. I had to go around and around and around for 25 minutes and it seemed an eternity – how to make running really boring! The next run I did (28 minutes) I did along my trail in the Nature Park and the time passed much more pleasantly. I have done some of my runs on the treadmill at the gym and was able to completely zone out (you usually don’t have to look out for rocks on the treadmill!) which was fine but not as enjoyable as being outside (even when the temperature is hovering around freezing). It is a bit easier to run on the treadmill so I’ve seen advice to set your treadmill on an incline to compensate somewhat (I set mine to 2.0) and be prepared the first time you run outside for it to be more challenging.

10. Listen to music.
At this stage of my running training, I don’t need to listen to anything too ‘pump’n’ as I don’t need to run fast. What I do like to listen to is music that I really love so that I can be completely absorbed in it – it is such a great distraction. Singing along can be a bit difficult sometimes though – LOL!

As I have said, this has just been my experience but I hope that it will help someone else who is just starting out running. Running should be the most natural thing in the world so we think we can just go out and do it but I found that I needed some support and guidance along the way because even if it is ‘natural’, it isn’t easy.

However, if I can do it, so can you! Good luck!