couch to 5k

The pool I use is 25yds. One mile is 1750 yds (1760 yds in a mile), so I swim 35 laps and call it good. The "official" swim mile is 1650 yds (33 laps), though, to match up with the international 1500 meters.
 
skier said:
I find running boring the scenery doesn’t change fast enough. Biking on the other hand I’ve found to be better. I’m not staring at the same house for 3 minutes.
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I really prefer cycling too, but running is much more convenient. I'm going tonight after work. It will be dark and temperature will be in the 30's, but there's a lighted trail in the park where I can run. There's no way I'd ride in the dark, nor at these temperatures.

CC268 said:
I'd really like to get into some running. I've always been a gym guy (compound lifts), but never much of a runner. My only concern is that I have asthma...not sure if I could ever actually run a marathon or something like that.
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Give it a try, start with the Couch to 5K, which mixes walking and running. If it starts to bother you, then stop.

GeorgeC said:
I think that is part of the appeal. I used to do a fair amount of cycling before kids, but it's a good chunk of gear and time.
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Plus it's easier to find places to run. To ride, you need a good chunk of mileage on low speed roads, or access to offroad trails. You can run almost everywhere.

Matthew said:
I picked up swimming too late in life. Looking back on it now, if I would have not run as much and started swimming a lot sooner, I'd be in triathlon shape. But I ran too long, too hard, and started wearing out moving parts (knees, hips) to where I'd be so sore after running that I'd have to take too many days off and lose whatever shape I'd gotten into. Since I quit running I started swimming. I should have thought about it sooner and overlapped the two.

Swimming is great exercise, but it has a lot of drawbacks that keep it from being spontaneous - you have to find a pool, you have to get there, you have to change, you have to swim, you have to change, you have to get home. Running is much simpler: change, go.
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My boss got it in his head he needed to do an iron distance triathlon. He threw himself into training, and finished his triathlon in a very respectable time. He than ran an offroad ultramarathon, then took up Crossfit, then blew out a knee. I started doing short distance triathlons and running events the same time he did. I'm still going, and he isn't doing anything any longer. I think it's better to moderate your efforts, it's too easy to burn out.

I've settled on running two times a week, three miles one day, and six the other. I do some events as well. This year I did a 5K run, a 3.7 mile quarry run, the Peachtree Road Race 10K run, a sprint distance triathlon, the PNC Atlanta 10 miler, and the Invesco Atlanta half marathon. Those last three races compose the Triple Peach race series, for which I received a nice long sleeve T shirt and a finisher's medal that would do Flavor Flav proud. I've never tried a full marathon and have no desire to do so.

I'm not a good natural athlete. One time in middle school, when we were doing the quarterly 12 minute run that we always did in PE class, the coach stopped a number of us and accused us of not trying. If you'd looked at us, we were all sweaty, red faced, and out of breath, and I suspect if you'd taken our pulses, none of us would have been under 150. We were trying, and I suspect were trying much harder than the guys who were in the front, we just were slow. But, I'm out there still doing it at age 61, and many of the fast guys are now sedentary.

Not being a good natural athlete, I've had to learn a few things. My natural stride is long, which tends to make me heel strike. I had to relearn how to run. Anyone who is having pain may want to check out Good Form Running .
It took me a few months to change my stride, but I can now run much farther without pain. Another plus was that after changing my stride, I shaved three minutes off my 5K time. I still have to think about maintaining my form, so I don't listen to music while running. It's also a good time to be alone with your thoughts.

I'm going running after work tonight, the temps are in the 30's today. UnderArmor ColdGear is good stuff. We have a fairly nice treadmill (dreadmill) at home but the weather's going to have to get a lot worse before I get on it.

My left ankle is kind of floppy, and I wear orthotics. I get them from Dr. Jarrett, who prescribes a gradually larger set of orthotics. if I didn't have these, I wouldn't be running. I might not be walking all that well either.

I also recommend a massage stick. It's a big help in keeping your legs from stiffening up. I have some issues with the iliotibial band in my left leg, and the massage stick helps keep it stretched, which prevents it from acting up.
 
FormerHangie said:
My left ankle is kind of floppy, and I wear orthotics. I get them from Dr. Jarrett, who prescribes a gradually larger set of orthotics. if I didn't have these, I wouldn't be running. I might not be walking all that well either.

I also recommend a massage stick. It's a big help in keeping your legs from stiffening up. I have some issues with the iliotibial band in my left leg, and the massage stick helps keep it stretched, which prevents it from acting up.
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I've been extremely lucky, in that, I have never had a serious sports injury despite playing soccer/baseball/football up through jr high, and continuing with recreational soccer/baseball through current-day. I've had a few jammed fingers/rolled ankles but never anything requiring a doctor's visit. I'm also terrible about stretching, especially if just going for a jog. Amazing how differently everyone fares in that aspect.
 
You aren't going to run "anerobicly" for a 5K (or anything approaching it).

I actually do have an Endless Pool (it's Margy's actually). Our professional triathlete son-in-law loves it.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I've been extremely lucky, in that, I have never had a serious sports injury despite playing soccer/baseball/football up through jr high, and continuing with recreational soccer/baseball through current-day. I've had a few jammed fingers/rolled ankles but never anything requiring a doctor's visit. I'm also terrible about stretching, especially if just going for a jog. Amazing how differently everyone fares in that aspect.
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The only thing that soccer did was hurt your ego...:D:p jk
 
FormerHangie said:
I really prefer cycling too, but running is much more convenient. I'm going tonight after work. It will be dark and temperature will be in the 30's, but there's a lighted trail in the park where I can run. There's no way I'd ride in the dark, nor at these temperatures.
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Sounds like you need one of these:
EE871A0F-96DC-422E-B1CB-7AE99EB14D6A.jpeg

I know a guy that commutes to and from work (night shift) pretty much year-round in Connecticut in one of them.

http://www.katanga.eu/waw/
 
CC268 said:
I'd really like to get into some running. I've always been a gym guy (compound lifts), but never much of a runner. My only concern is that I have asthma...not sure if I could ever actually run a marathon or something like that.
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Sure you can. There are a lot of swimmers who have asthma. They took up swimming to learn to control their breathing, and never stopped.
You can always bring an inhaler with you. At one point I had a breathing issue, and the doctor recommended an inhaler. It took care of the problem. Then, I noticed I did better in the gym when I used it, so I stopped using it. Didn't want to cheat myself.
 
God only gives you a certain number of heartbeats why waste them on running.

Actually I try to get 30-40 mins of some sort of exercise 4-5 days a week. During deer or turkey season it is usually just comes with whatever I doing. In the summer we walk a few miles a day outside and in the winter hit the gym either walk the track or ride the bikes. If the conditions are right I will go snow shoeing. I find the gym and the treadmill boring so anything else is my first choice. All that and I am still fat go figure.
 
DFH65 said:
God only gives you a certain number of heartbeats why waste them on running.

Actually I try to get 30-40 mins of some sort of exercise 4-5 days a week. During deer or turkey season it is usually just comes with whatever I doing. In the summer we walk a few miles a day outside and in the winter hit the gym either walk the track or ride the bikes. If the conditions are right I will go snow shoeing. I find the gym and the treadmill boring so anything else is my first choice. All that and I am still fat go figure.
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You ever heard the saying, "you can't outrun your fork"? Most people can't exercise enough to lose a significant amount of weight. It's a combination of your diet and how your body chooses to use energy.

There's some research into why obesity is becoming epidemic. There's something systemic going on, it's not just a matter of willpower.
 
FormerHangie said:
There's some research into why obesity is becoming epidemic. There's something systemic going on, it's not just a matter of willpower.
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Inexpensive, tasty foods chock full of sugar and hollow calories. Add in a dose of portion control, lack of self restraint, and a sedentary lifestyle. You get mass obesity.
 
kyleb said:
Inexpensive, tasty foods chock full of sugar and hollow calories. Add in a dose of portion control, lack of self restraint, and a sedentary lifestyle. You get mass obesity.
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And 24 hour cable TV and on demand movies. Probably not a primary culprit, but I suspect a major contributor.
 
DaleB said:
And 24 hour cable TV and on demand movies. Probably not a primary culprit, but I suspect a major contributor.
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That's probably a subset of a sedentary lifestyle.
 
GeorgeC said:
Anyone done it?
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Many times! I've never made it past week 2. :(

Matthew said:
Get into a 5k, pull in behind one of those good sights, and the miles melt away before you know it.
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Yeah, but I'm not really an ass man, I'm more of a boob man. Maybe I need to get one of those biking mirrors, and try to stay ahead of one of those sights?

This is why I like to run with my wife, but the two of us together weren't ever very good at sticking to a regimen, and now that there's a 2-year-old, somebody's gotta stay home and make sure he doesn't burn the place down. Running by myself is not nearly as much fun.

Matthew said:
There was an old Marine in my neighborhood. He was a runner too, but we never ran together. I remember one day we were both on our return trip. He was coming from the south, I was coming from the north. We met at a corner and then headed east back to our neighborhood. There was long, gradual hill, close to 1/3 mile long, that was brutal because it was right at the end of the run. No words were spoken, but we each knew what was about to happen. We ended up racing each other up the hill and then pulled into the neighborhood. He went left and I went right and he gave me a thumbs-up. So I have that going for me, which is nice.
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Nice. Reminds of of "way back when"... I marched in the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps for six years. Nationwide tour each summer, 8 hours/day of running drill sets and then running back to do them over again. Generally, I would eat as much as I could and still lose 30 pounds and gain a ton of muscle each summer. One of the guys I marched with posted a picture that I was in from the end of the 1993 season, and you could see my ribs. :eek:

Anyway... After the '95 season, one of our guys went straight into the Marines. During the '96 season, when he had some leave, he came to see us at a show. After the show was done, he just started running around the track, at a pretty good clip. Some of us were kind of keeping an eye on him, and eventually (after he'd run about 3 miles already) one guy said "Let's go see how long we can keep up with him." There we were, in the best shape of our lives, and at the pace he was going, nobody kept up with him past 100 yards. :eek:

Jamie Kirk said:
Did a couch to half Ironman in 6 months. 2 months later did a full Ironman. That was 7 full Ironmans ago with my 8th scheduled.

When I started I couldn’t run a mile and didn’t have a bike.

Now? Just smashed Ironman Arizona in 11 hours 3 minutes running a 3 hour 54 minute marathon at the end.
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Impressive! My brother-in-law followed a similar path, I think he's done 8 Ironmans now. I've always thought that would be a neat thing to accomplish, until I actually try to do it. :rofl:

Fallsrider said:
My problem is that I have never liked running. I kept it up for six or eight weeks at 3.1 miles per run. Then I would miss a day because of weather, or I didn't feel like it, and the next thing you know, I had not run in several days. Then that turned into no running at all. Haven't tried since. I think it's a great program, though.
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I was pretty impressed by my mother, who decided several years ago that she was going to get some exercise every single day, no matter what. And she did - Didn't miss a day for over four years, until she had abdominal surgery and then heart surgery in pretty quick succession in 2017 and missed a few weeks. But she's back at it.

The rest of my family bikes a lot - My mom, brother, and sister went coast to coast (literally starting with the rear wheel in the Pacific and dipping the front wheel in the Atlantic at the end) over the course of about 6-7 weeks in 1996. More recently, my parents have ridden the Mississippi River, the entire west coast, and the entire east coast (about 1.25 years ago, at ages 76 and 71!).

Me, not so much...
 
FormerHangie said:
You ever heard the saying, "you can't outrun your fork"? Most people can't exercise enough to lose a significant amount of weight. It's a combination of your diet and how your body chooses to use energy.

There's some research into why obesity is becoming epidemic. There's something systemic going on, it's not just a matter of willpower.
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Oh I agree, I am well aware of the math. It is a constant struggle I have been doing this all my life. I have lost 100s of pounds over the years. Right now I am 60 pounds less than my heaviest but still a long way from where I want to be. I come from a fat family. I have two siblings both that have had gastric bypass my Dad was massively obese. I choose to fight it in the trenches. I honestly don't eat crap. I have eliminated almost all of the sugar out of my diet but at 53 the issue is your body just doesn't need that many calories particularly sitting at a desk most of the day. You are correct it is hard to exercise enough to make a real difference. What the exercise does do is keep a lot other health issues at bay.

I do believe it is some combination of Nature and Nurture some people's bodies are more efficient than others. It is interesting to me that we always say someone who can eat a lot and is thin has a "great metabolism" NO THEY DON'T. Their body is not as efficient at using the calories consumed. In a real survival situation they would starve first. My wife is a great example of this she eats what she wants when she wants consumes a lot of sugar and couldn't gain weight if she was trying.

I realize all that is irrelevant if you want to lose weight because there is some number of calories that will sustain you, eat less you will lose, eat more you will gain. In the end as I said it is math.
 
FormerHangie said:
You ever heard the saying, "you can't outrun your fork"? Most people can't exercise enough to lose a significant amount of weight. It's a combination of your diet and how your body chooses to use energy.

There's some research into why obesity is becoming epidemic. There's something systemic going on, it's not just a matter of willpower.
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At the grocery store, take a good look at what is in most heavy people's carts. It's mosty stuff they have no business eating.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
This is why I like to run with my wife, but the two of us together weren't ever very good at sticking to a regimen, and now that there's a 2-year-old, somebody's gotta stay home and make sure he doesn't burn the place down. Running by myself is not nearly as much fun.
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Yeah, that third wheel gets awkward. One of those jogging strollers might work. Another thing to try is going to a local jr high or high school and using their track. You could tag team around the track for a few miles and get some family time, too.
 
I tried. My knees no longer allow me to run, the cartilage is shot. I will just have accept that I will probably never do a marathon.
 
Hank S said:
I've gone from the couch to 10K in about an hour, including the drive to the airport, preflight, departure and climb. But more often I level off between 7500 -- 9500 when traveling . . . . .
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Impromptu 5.5k, running alongside my son on his bike. Not too bad.
 
GeorgeC said:
Impromptu 5.5k, running alongside my son on his bike. Not too bad.
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That's a way to keep moving.

A buddy of mine does Ironman tris. Sometimes I'll see him running and one of his kids is on a bike carrying his drink bottles.
 
Takes me about one hour from my couch to pulling onto the runway. From there it’s about one minute to 5 thousand feet since we’re starting at 4415. :D
 
Couch to 5K....my initial impression of title was to ask “how to get that couch into the airplane?”
 
Started picking this up again on and off in 2021 with onesie twosie mile runs around the neighborhood. It finally dawned on me that there are probably more miles in my legs, so I've been adding distance a little at a time. Now up to 4.5 miles. With any luck, will be in shape for 18 by September.
 
GeorgeC said:
...With any luck, will be in shape for 18 by September.
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Way to go. Are you training for something specific, like a race? I have a hard time working out just b/c I know it's good for me. Having a race on the calendar that's not going away tends to keep me focused/engaged.
 
FormerHangie said:
That thing looks pretty cool. i still wouldn't want to ride it at night.
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Honestly I prefer riding @ night, granted I’m in/on low traffic roads, but it sure makes it easier to see them, and for them to see me as the lighting now w/the LED’s is great.
 
After my ex and I separated (25 years ago, yay!), I got a wild hair to run a marathon. Given I had never been a runner, I don't know what possessed me, but I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon (didn't require a lottery to enter back then), and figured committing the entry fee would force me to stick to it. I found a book called something like "4 Months to a 4-Hour Marathon," and followed their program, at least for about the first half of training, when a couple of injuries set me back. In the end, I was maybe ready for a half-marathon, but I finished the race, albeit in about 5-1/2 hours, with a lot of walking.

Could barely walk down stairs for a couple of days, but it was still one of the greatest experiences of my life. "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon" is an overused expression, applied to everything from school, to careers, to life, but nobody understands it like someone who's done distance running. You truly come to grasp the need to pace yourself, shut out the pain, and just get into a zone where you feel like you could do this for hours (which is good, because you have to!). Somewhere in my prep, I ran across a quote from an elite runner (maybe Frank Shorter?), saying something like "My hat's off to the guys who finish in 4, 5, 6 hours ... I'm done in 2, and resting, while they still have hours to go."

My running days are long over, after a badly broken foot that didn't heal right, but the lessons stuck with me.
 
Mikey B said:
...the Marine Corps Marathon...
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You picked one of the best marathons to run. Great course. Relatively flat. Beautiful and historic scenery. Great atmosphere and fan support nearly the entire way.

Mikey B said:
...quote from an elite runner...My hat's off to the guys who finish in 4, 5, 6 hours...I'm done in 2, and resting, while they still have hours to go...
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I have Ironman friends who feel the same frequently going back to the finish line ~8pm to encourage those crossing the finish line as the cutoff approaches. That always impressed me as, even for the elite athletes, it's still a pretty darned long day.
 
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