Okay, so now that I'm down 20 lbs, doc says I need to exercise 30 minutes, 5 times a week. So, I've seen a link to this website, coolrunning.com, around the forum and have decided that now is the opportnuity to work into my life the "Couch to 5k" learn to run program.

I thought it would be cool to turn it into a challenge so I, and any other interested parties, would have accountability and support while we move from the couch into the world of exercise.

The program is simple. Essentially, you jog/walk 30 minutes three times a day according to the plan available at the following site:

www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

It takes about nine weeks to get to the 5k mark, and I plan to start with week 1 today. You can either train for time or distance. I plan to train for time.

If you're interested, please post so we can embark on this journey together!!! Also, if there's anyone out there who has ever tried this training program before, please post re: your experiences, progress, etc!

Good Luck to All

tiodnaci,

I am going to join you!! I have never been a runner, so this challenge is right up my alley. Wow, me running 5K in 9 weeks? I'm going to give it my best! Best of luck to you too!

Great!! Best of Luck to you, too! I'm nor runner either, but I think it will be wonderful to be able to jog 5k without passing out!! I am off to the gym for day one now - I figure the treadmill will help me keep time as I switch from 90 sec. of walking to 60 sec. of jogging. Keep me posted on your progress!!

Well I completed day one today. I have to admit after 15 minutes (15 minutes, 39 seconds to be exact) I was getting pretty tired and out of breath. I thought I'd make note of it because I'm determined to make it to 5k without feeling like that again. Let me know how your first day goes!

I'd be happy to join y'all! I already planned on starting this next week, because I'd like to participate in a 10k run five months from now. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get into good enough shape by then but I'm sure as heck going to try, and even if I don't... I'll do the 5k race. I'm going to follow the plan, even though I can already see myself getting winded. I like to walk everyday anyway so I may do this 4-5 time a week. We'll see.

I'll start tomorrow! Good luck to all of you already running.

~Whitney~

Welcome Whitney! How incredible that you are planning to run a 10k! I KNOW you will do it!

Finished day one, and my knees are KILLING me. Overall, it went pretty well, but I too, was pretty pooped after 15 minutes. I couldn't wait for each round of 60 seconds to be over. I'm glad tomorrow is a recovery day - I definitely need it. Something tells me, though, that day two will be tougher than day one. Still I'm in it for the long haul.

Congratulations, Emily, on you success for day one - We will be running 5k in no time!! Keep up the great work!!

Awesome,

I did this program last summer and believe me it works. I had not run for over 20 years and went from the couch and completed the 5k Labor day run mid pack so it works.

Three things I would say:

Buy decent running shoes.

Stretch good before starting

Add a 5 minute cool down walk at the end of your routine.

Enjoy - it makes a huge difference. I am starting the program to do the half marathon this month.

tiodnaci- Congrats on completing day one! I found 60 seconds of jogging much harder than I thought. In 9 weeks we'll look back on this and be amazed by how far we have come.

Whitney- Welcome.

301- Congrats on completing Couch-to-5K! Thanks for the tips and incentive. Please keep us posted on how the half marathon goes!

nawchem- Welcome! You CAN do this! Maybe even if you alter the sessions a bit??? Try walking for 90 second then jog for 15-30 seconds and work your way up??? A good sports bra is an absolute must! I wore a regular bra and snug lycra shirt and I am sore across the top of my chest. I'm going to have to buy a good sports bra too.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted!

Very, Very cool..... I started the cool running program back in October.. and I LOVE it.... although I have really slacked on it for the past month.. I need to start doing it regularily again.

My progress is quite slow.. but nevertheless.. progress is being made.. the feeling you get from running is outstanding.. so being able to run 5k for me would be a dream come true.

I definetly have to say having a good sports bra is SO important.... I use the 'Curves' bra.. and like Tim says above... very good running shoes.. a must.. the ones I got are not the best fitting.. which I find to be a hinderance at times... so I plan on going to an atheletic shoe store to be fitted for shoes.. a friend of mine told me about... the problem with me.. is I have to drive about 3 hours to get to one.... but its a must.

Thank-you for starting this challenge and will begin to post my progress here...

Good luck to you all!!

Don't forget to stretch prior and after!!!!!!

This is so exciting cuz I've been doing this for several months, too thanks to Cathy.... but I slacked off (after making it to week FIVE, which nearly killed me! ) and just completed day one of week two today (don't want to start ALL the way over) and felt GREAT!!!

This is funny. I did a search on the forum for 5k and I found this challenge. This is wonderful because my new workout buddy and I printed this program off the coolrunning site last week. We tweaked it a little bit and are going to sign up for our first 5k - February 11th.

Today I did
Treadmill
walk 10 minutes
run 10 minutes intervals up to 1 hour.

This is our first week so next week we are going to push ourselves to do 15 minute run/walk intervals....

I have been doing an hour of cardio already but would love to be able to run long distances without getting bored/tired/....

So good luck to everyone!

WOW!!! 15 minutes of running!!! I can do the 90 seconds run/2 minutes walk, but when I got up to the three minute run I thought I was gonna die!!!

Day 1 of week 1 was dang hard for me. I've haven't sweat that hard in a long time. Towards the end I was just walking faster instead of jogging.