My Couch to 5K Exercise Progress
General instructions: Precede all instructions with stretching and a five minute warmup walk. Follow with cooldown stretch. Here is the original article from Cool Running with plan instructions. Dates in a lighter grey are planned dates.
Note, June 12, 2007: On hold for 3-4 weeks due to shin splints, with a potential for stress fracture. Cardio training on elliptical machines, stationary bikes, and via walking will resume in a week.
| Wk | Exercise Plan | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. | Mar 8 '07 | Mar 11 '07 | Mar 13 '07 |
| 2 | Alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. | Mar 16 '07 | Mar 18 '07 | Mar 20 '07 |
| 3 | Do two repetitions of the following:
|
Mar 23 '07 | Mar 30 '07 | Apr 3 '07 |
| 4 |
|
Apr 10 '071 Apr 17 '07 |
Apr 13 '07 Apr 19 '07 |
Apr 15 '07 Apr 24 '07 |
| 5 |
|
Apr 26 '072 | Apr 29 '07 | May 3 '07 |
| 6 |
|
May 11 '07 | May 13 '07 | May 15 '07 |
| 6.5† |
|
May 25 '073 | May 31 '07 | June 1 '074 |
| 7 | Jog 2-1/2 miles, or 25 minutes | June 3 '075 | ||
| 8 | Jog 2-3/4 miles, or 28 minutes | June 8 '07 | July 10 '07 | July 12 '07 |
| 9 | Jog 3 miles, or 30 minutes | July 14 '07 | July 17 '07 | July 19 '07 |
†It's a huge jump from week 6 to week 7, i.e. no stretch of jogging longer than 3/4 mile to 2.5 miles. So, I stuck my own in there. I don't know if it will fully bridge the gap, but it'll get me a lot closer.
1Couldn't remember how long the walk in between the two sets was, and thought I had to get it all to add up to 2.5 miles instead of 2. Ended up walking 1/4 mile extra on the middle walk and jogging 1/10 mile less to round to 2.5 including warmup.
2Using a treadmill in a room with no circulation while extra humid from laundry didn't work. Took a 5-10 minute break for water and exhaustion after the 2nd run, only did 1/4 mile for the last run.
3First ever continuous mile in my life. Before age 30. However, did not make the last 3/4 mile stint, just a half mile.
4Ran 1 1/4 mile for the middle and 1/2 mile for the end.
5Ran on an outdoor track. Made 6 out of the 10 laps before I had to walk a half lap. Ran another lap after that, had to stop to finish water, then ran the remaining 2 laps. Was averaging a hair over 3 minutes per lap save the walking.