Couch to 5K

A few weeks ago, my blog friend Marianne said she was starting the Couch to 5K program.  I had never heard of this...so I clicked on the link and thought, "Hey this is something I could do!"  I'm feeling a bit left out - my sister has become a runner of sorts...OK, she's participated in one 5K and she's got two coming up in October & November.  My son has definitely got the running down.  This summer, every week he had 2-3 days of conditioning for soccer.  He has PE this semester in school and they have "tests" each week.  He's had to do sit ups, push ups, some kind of dots thing, and running.  His best mile to date is 6:24.  I'm so impressed.  And I've always wanted to be a runner, but just never have felt like I could.  I would try and fail miserably...and then not try anymore.

So, it sounded like Couch to 5K was definitely for me.

Even though I haven't regularly exercised in over 2 years. 

I mean, the name says it...you can get off your couch and train in 9 weeks to run a 5K, right???

I even downloaded the podcasts so that I didn't have to have a stopwatch.

And I ran my first day of week one last night.  Wow...I think I should've done the Couch to regular exercise to 5K.  I didn't make it through all the intervals...I ran the first three, walked through the 4th, ran the 5th and walked out the last three.  But, I did exercise for 30 minutes.  And to me, that's a score!  And I'm not horribly sore today - I went home and did some good stretching!  I seriously think you need to have some kind of conditioning to really do this program in 9 weeks.  I posted about it on my Facebook and had a friend respond that she had to do each week twice.  Which I had already decided I was going to do.

So, I'm not totally discouraged with this and I hope to continue it.  I think I may even go ahead and register for the 5K in November with my sis.  #1 - It's for a good cause - a little girl (3 yrs old) in our community collapsed in her pediatricians office back in June...they found out later that she had a virus that attacked her heart & lungs.  She's been through a lot, and she still has a long way to go, but she's doing better than the doctors ever thought and she actually has been able to come home.  After over 3 mos of being in the hospital.  So, this 5K will raise money for her medical bills.  #2 - It's not just a run...you can walk.  So, even if I don't feel like I'm up for running an entire 5K (which I totally don't expect to be), I can walk it without shame.

I'm really hoping to stick with this.  The last exercise program I was regularly involved in was through Curves.  Three years ago, I think I would've been able to do the program in the 9 weeks.  However, I am now about 40-50 pounds overweight...I weigh 20 pounds MORE than I did when I was 42 weeks pregnant with Dylan...I am 30 pounds heavier than when I started Curves initially.  And I know that running or exercising is only part of the answer here, I think it's definitely a good place to start.

I will let you know about my progress.  Today's my resting day...but tomorrow I pick it up again.  My goal for tomorrow is to make one more interval before having to walk it out...so I would run the first 4 intervals, at least.  My main issue here is going to be will power...so, we shall see! :)