SO. Now that we’ve talked about the idiots I run into when I “run”…
Let’s talk about the actual WORKOUT PLAN.
A few months ago I attempted the much lauded C25k plan … and hated it. Partially because I was breaking down muscle I’d built through years of dance (Fun fact: many dance styles build muscle along the sides of your calves. Running builds it along the back. According to my doctor, the two do not mix.) and it hurt like HELL, and partially because … well … it’s just a really poorly thought out plan.
I mean seriously, you cannot expect someone who hasn’t done any kind of exercise in a while to run 60 seconds at a time with only 90 seconds in between each set. Sure, the first few times it’s easy, but when you get to the 6th or 7th set, you’re going to be hurting.
I plodded along with it, but once I hit week 4 (or was it 5?) … and you jump from 8 minutes at a time to 20 minutes at a time? Yah, I was done. My legs hurt, my back was sore, I was tired all the time and I decided to sell my race registration. I was wussing out. Not something I’ve done in exercise before, so I was pretty sure this plan was not for me.
Let’s skip ahead a couple of months. Husband decides he’s got a deathwish and registers for the Marine Corps Marathon on October 30th, and do I want to run the 10k? I’m helpless when he gets excited about including me in his stuff, so I signed up … not particularly caring that I had NO IDEA how I was going to make it through 6.2 miles.
Enter the Couch-to-10k Plan I found on Daily Burn.
click to embiggen
Yes, the workouts are twice as long. But look! In week 1 you get 4:30 to recover after each :30 of running! EASY! And from there the first 6 weeks you work your way up :30 at a time! True, in week 9 you jump 2 minutes up, and in week 10 you double … but by then, you’ve been running regularly almost 3 months. And if Alyssa’s running journey is any indication, that jump will be a piece of cake, with or without the little running lady’s encouragement.
An added bonus? By week 6 this plan has you doing just shy of the 10k (as in .21 miles shy … or 2 minutes of running) in 75 minutes. (At least, that’s at my current paces.) which means, by week 6, I’ll be sure I can finish the race in a respectable time, even if I’m doing run-walk pacing. Woot!
So is there anyone out there who wants to do this with me? We can encourage each other, and make it through, and BY OCTOBER be running 6+ miles. 6 miles is downright RESPECTABLE. Think about it … it’s enough to enter various races (St. Paddy’s Day 8k anyone? Rachel, I’m looking at you!), and enough to join in if people ask if you want to go for a run.
I’m going to keep track of my progress like so:
Oh hey, look! That’s a screencap of my. own. blog. See the little “Workin’ It Out” tab? You got it!
I’ll keep updating every couple of weeks (or weekly, if I get motivated to) to keep us all on track. So far, week 1 is in the bag. ONWARD TO WEEK 2!
Little Pieces Everywhere 