Posts Tagged ‘ couch25k ’

My Perfect Exercise Week

01/19/2010

On my last post, Jeannie asked what I consider to be my perfect exercise weekly routine. That’s a a tough question because every week ends up being a little bit different depending on my schedule. So I’ll share what I try to get done and what I consider the best for me right now. Thing is though, what I consider to be a perfect exercise week now is much different from what I did when I was starting out. When you are starting out, you need to find something that you can do. Something that won’t hurt you. And something that you enjoy. When I started out, I started with walking. I tried to get out there 3-4 times a week and I started with a mile at a time. Each week, I added a half a mile until I was up to walking two miles. That’s when I...

The Key To Running Success: Persistence, Not Perfection

07/13/2009

Since I started triathlon training, I have concentrated on the run the most. And it’s paying off. Since it was the one thing I’d never done before, it was also the one thing that freaked me out and made me hesitate about even trying. I signed up anyway because I can always walk if I have to. I had to in my last race. I had to walk a lot. For the race coming up on August 1 though, I won’t have to walk. I may have to run slow, but I won’t have to walk. I can run now. Saturday, I ran a full 5k in my neighborhood. I took a new route that I’d mapped out the night before in my car (it’s also kind of my bike route). 3.1 miles. Mostly a flat run with 3 hills (or maybe I should say inclines, but decent ones)....

The thing about Couch25K…

06/29/2009

When I decided to sign up for a triathlon back in November 2008, I knew I was going to need help with the running. I have never been a runner, never even made it the mile in high school and never had any desire to be a runner. So how does a complete non-runner get started? I was walking, but running is a whole different animal. I went online and did some research and found the Couch25K interval training program on the Cool Running website. It started with minute-long running intervals. “I can do that,” I figured. I can do anything for a minute. I sailed through weeks 1 to 3. Optimally, through this program you can be running a 5K in 9 weeks. I am not optimal. I got really stuck between 3 minute intervals and 5 minute intervals. I just couldn’t make that change. So I stayed...

How Far I've Come

03/16/2009

I had a great run this morning. For me, anyway. I’ve been doing a modified Couch25K running interval training now since December. And this morning, I ran a full mile without stopping. 12 minutes running without stopping. Did I mention this was great for me? Slow for anyone who is really a runner. And I only needed 2 minutes walking recovery time before I was able to kick it up again and run the rest of my 2 miles (the distance of my upcoming race). I continued on the treadmill for three miles, but the triumphant part for me was finishing 2 in under 25 minutes (barely). When I started Couch25K, I could barely run for a minute without feeling like collapsing. When I finally made it to three-minute intervals, I thought I would never get past that. And the first time I ran a 5-minute interval, I thought I...

From Exercise to Triathlon Training

01/29/2009

I’m exercising with a purpose now. I realized that this week. While I’ve been exercising all along with my upcoming triathlon in mind, this is the week I went from “exercising” to “training.” I get on the bike, the treadmill and into the pool with very specific goals. It’s not just about getting fit and healthy anymore. It’s about digging in and improving my times and my form, and putting together the pieces. I mean, it dawned on me this week that while I can run/walk 2 miles, I can swim 400 meters and I can bike 6 miles (the distances in my first race in April), that’s not enough. I have to be able to do all three in a row. And I need to do them competitively. When I swam this week, I didn’t just do 40 laps like I’ve been doing. I dug in the last...

Triathlon Training – Couch 2 5K

01/08/2009

I’ve been training for my triathlon coming up in April. Suddenly, four months doesn’t seem like a whole lot of time. My biggest challenge is the running part because I’ve never ever been a runner. I barely completed the 1-mile runs in high school (and I was in good shape then!). Now 30-something years later, I’m starting to run. Tonight I started week three of my Couch 2 5K training, only I modified it some. In week one, you run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds. In week two, you run 90 seconds, walk two minutes (more than once obviously) and in week three, you are supposed to run 90 seconds, walk 90, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Yeah, no. So tonight I ran 90, walked 90, ran 2 minutes, walked 2 minutes and so forth for 20-something minutes. I’m hoping by the end of week three, I’ll be...

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