Conservative Couch to 5K
 

Hey, everybody!

I haven't been lurking around these boards for too very long so please forgive me if this has already been covered, but I was wondering if anyone here has done the Couch to 5K program. A friend of mine did it last year, but it was hard for me to go very far in the program. Being as heavy as I am, my knees and ankles hurt and I was worried about really hurting myself.

Last night, though, I found a "conservative" version of it. It lasts 28 weeks instead of the usual 9, and begins with simple walking.

Has anyone had experience with this program before? How did you like it?
Is there anyone interested in doing the program along with me? I'm planning on starting today, and I would love to have some company throughout this 7 month commitment!

Kelli

Hi, Kelli! That sounds interesting. Can you share where you found it? I want to do the Couch to 5k but figure I have to wait until I'm a little more fit to start it. I tried last year and walking even a block was really tough. I felt like such a failure.

Maybe the conservative version would work better for me. Wanna do it together?

Yes, I would love to do it together. I didn't get to start today like I planned so if you want to pick a day we could start together. I don't have enough posts to put a link up yet, but I found it at beginnertriathlete.com Click on the "programs" icon at the top, then scroll down to Couch to 5K (conservative). If you can't get to it this way feel free to PM me and I'll send you the program. Looking forward to it!

Kelli

I found it. It looks kind of scary but I think I can do it with the help of a buddy. :hug:

So we're in week 1? We both missed that first Tuesday but that's OK we'll start tomorrow.

Week 1
Tues - 0/10
Thurs - 0/15
Sat - 0/10
Sun - 0/15

28 weeks lands in about mid July. I could be in good enough shape to walk the 5k in the Beach to Chowder Run this June, in Long Beach, WA! One of my goals is to be able to run the 10k on the beach. This year I would be very happy with walking the 5k through the dunes.

Anyone else want to join in the fun?

What a coincidence, I am hoping to do a 5K in June as well. There are a couple here right around my birthday and this gives me something to shoot for.
Wow, do you live in WA? Are you going to be using a treadmill or walking outside? I know it's crazy cold here and I'm in AR! lol

Good luck. Let me know how it goes tomorrow!

HI Girls,
I'd like to join you if I may. I live in Washington too so I'll be doing mine on a treadmill til the weather gets better.

I'll go check out the site now.
Let me know when you plan on starting. Maybe we can get Heather to make this a sticky so we can keep it at the top and get more people interested.

Hi, Debbie. Sure, we would love to have you join us. We are planning on starting tomorrow with Thursday of week 1. But feel free to jump in anytime!

Hi, Debbie! The more the merrier! :high:

I used to live in Long Beach, WA but had to move back to the Portland, OR area after my step-dad was diagnosed with cancer. I am 37, mother of 5, currently work from home but will be opening a store soon. I will be using a treadmill for now-- very cold and wet here.

Debbie, where in WA are you? Want to do the 5k with me?
funbeach.com/events/beachrun/index.html

Kelli, when is your birthday? Mine is June 19th.

My birthday is the 10th. I'm 26, mom to my 2 Boxers. Grew up in TX but live in AR now. Looks like I'll be doing it outside for as long as possible. I have a stationary bike but not a treadmill yet.
Although, I'm hoping to either buy an elliptical or just join a gym in a few months. But by then it'll be spring! I do need to come up with a Plan B for bad weather. Its supposed to ice over tonight, so I can't walk or run on that! Not sure what I'll do then. Maybe use a visitor's pass to my boyfriend's gym.

Did I miss where it explains what we do?

Were you able to find the chart? This month is walking only. You simply walk to number of minuts listed in the column for that day. Today would be walking 15 minutes according to the chart. Do feel free to change the days. Just make sure you get that rest day in between.

Next month, we will begin running. For example, Tuesday of Week 1 of next month says 28/2. We walk 28 min and run 2. It says in the paragraph above it I think that you can split that up however you like. Oh, and don't forget the warm-up/cool-down.

Well, I'm going to wait another couple of hours for it to warm up a bit and then I'll be off for my walk!

Here is the page it's on. (You'll have to copy and paste the URL below. We are too new to post links.)

beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=27&printer=1

Week 1
Tues - 0/10
Thurs - 15/15
Sat - 0/10
Sun - 0/15

I'm sore. Took some Alive. I plan to take it easy tomorrow and will hit the treadmill Sat and Sun. How did you gals do?

It was sleeting so I did a Leslie Samsone video instead of my 10 min walking. It's definately not the same as actually walking, but a longer length so hopefully it won't set me back. I'm still hurting a bit from pulling every major muscle from my rear end to my foot last week. (got tangled in my 100lb dog's leash and he bolted) otherwise, i'm feelin good to be starting something

Good job, Kelli!

I had to break the walk into 2 segments. I was winded and hurting. It might have been easier if I started with the 10 min on Tues. 5 minutes is my comfort zone, beyond that is pain. I knew this one would be hard for me but I'm giving it all I can.

That's good though. Progress! It wouldn't hurt anything to repeat the first week or the first month if you need to. I've been walking for a while, so I'm ok now, but I'm sure once we start jogging I'll be repeating that first month.

Just a little motivation for ya, when I first started walking about 6 months ago, I made it once around the track (1/4 mile) and had to stop. My feet were SO bad. I honestly wouldn't have made it the whole way but there was nothing I could do but come around the track once I was halfway there! lol But in a matter of 3 months or so I was walking 3 miles every day after work. I think the key was lots of gentle stretching. I did have a lot of soreness those first few weeks but I kept at it, and after a while I really looked forward to my workouts. So, definately hang in there and go at your own pace. Next month you'll be glad you did!

Thank you for the words of encouragement! I'm really hurting today. I think I may have over done it with the 15 minutes right off the bat. I don't care as much about running as I do about being able to walk a long distance without hurting. So, I think I will create my own Couch to 5k WALK with my end goal being the 5k walk in June. Then I will do the Couch to 5k RUN. If I don't keep my goals realistic for where I am I'll burn out quick. I'm going to keep the days they list but start with 5 and 8 minutes the first week. How are you doing?

Here is my month one plan. With this being week 1.

Week 1
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 15/8
Sat - 0/5
Sun - 0/8


Week 2
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/5
Sun - 0/8

Week 3
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/10
Sun - 0/8


Week 4
Tues - 0/10
Wed - 0/10
Fri - 0/15
Sun - 0/10

That sounds good. I'm doing ok. I could be eating better. I have this bad habit of completely blowing off the whole week if mess up one time. I'm on day 2 of a non-stop headache so that's really killing my desire to do what I'm supposed to. lol Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow so I can get back to work!

I got my 5 minutes in today. I think I might up my time a bit next week. 5 is good right now because I over did it on Thurs and am still hurting, but I think I will want to do more when I'm feeling a little better. :tread:

Week 1
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 15/8
Sat - 5/5
Sun - 0/8

Hey Hey sexy ladys! I slow that band wagon down, I want on!!!!

OK I am going with what Cathy has Posted! I live in S.Oregon and the weather can be NASTY! Like it was today.
I had to go Shopping so I POWER walked the whole time. the cart was heavy and I was sweating! WOW! I Parked WAY WAY out so I had to walk that as well. It is all Bag your own! So you know what that ment.... pacj it baby! On my Off days I will do my Wii fit and Big ball with bands.!
Week 1 Jan 9.
Sat - 30/0
Sun - 0/8


Week 2
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/5
Sun - 0/8

Week 3
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/10
Sun - 0/8


Week 4
Tues - 0/10
Wed - 0/10
Fri - 0/15
Sun - 0/10

Nice to have you, Sachiko! The more the merrier. And that's great kathy! I hope you feel better soon.

I am having problems sticking to my plan. So far I've done it, but I don't have a treadmill and it's waayyy too cold. It was 2 degrees this morning! I do have a stationary bike though. And the same website that had the conservative C25K has a cycling training plan too. I'm pretty sure I'm going to switch to that plan for the winter, and move on to C25K again in the spring. In fact the timing couldn't be more perfect. I guess the important thing is to keep moving! :carrot:

Glad to have you join us, sachiko!

It looks like this thread has become the "___ to 5k in 6 months" plan. Everyone can use the plan that is right for them. The support and holding each other accountable is what's really important. :cheer:

I'm off to do my 8 minutes.

Week 1
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 15/8
Sat - 5/5
Sun - 8/8

Ok, I'll be starting this week with week one. Is this right? On Tuesday I do 5mins then Thurs 8 mins and then put how many I actually did where the 0 is?

Week 1 (1/10 - 1/16)
Tues - 10/5 @2.5mph
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/5
Sun - 0/8


Week 2
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/5
Sun - 0/8

Week 3
Tues - 0/5
Thurs - 0/8
Sat - 0/10
Sun - 0/8


Week 4
Tues - 0/10
Wed - 0/10
Fri - 0/15
Sun - 0/10

Chatty, I'm in a little town just northeast of Mount Vernon which is way north of Seattle. Im originally from California though, just moved here about 7 years ago. I love it up here!

Yep, Debbie, that's it! Good luck to you!

Small world! I know that area. It is BEAUTIFUL! My husband used to live in Mt Vernon. I have family in Bellingham and we considered moving to Lynden a few years ago. I lived in So. Cal. as a kid-- Palmdale and Lancaster area.

Thanks! I'm going to print out the routine today so I can start tomorrow. Tonight I have a friend coming over and we'll be doing the dance dance revolution for wii. Its a good workout!

Chatty, so you've probably heard of Sedro-Woolley then...thats where I'm at.
In California, we started out in Alhambra and ended up in Perris before we moved up here.

hey ladies! i really want to do this program but need to tweak it to my needs. if i just walk i'll get bored because i've been walking alot lately. i might start on month 2 and just do that month twice or something...guess i'd better go read up on it!

Hey, katkitten! Good to have you. There is also a 9 week and 16 week version of the couch to 5K that might be more interesting to you. Let me know if you need links to anything.

Kelli

thanks! i'm sorta just gonna make up my own program but really do think it will take me the length of the conservative program to be able to run the whole thing.

I went and tried it out today just to see how hard it is and just wanted to tell you all what a difference 14 lbs can make! 14 lbs ago, i tried c25k and it really hurt my knees (ive always had bad knees) so i gave up. now when i run i actually feel bouncy! it was kind of fun! (in an omg im gonna die this is so hard to run kind of way) ;) lol

I def. want to join! I was going to attempt the regular (8 or 9 week) one but honestly I am so out of shape and overweight I don't think I can really jog right now! Taking it slow sounds good!

My name is Liz btw. I am a full time mom and college student. I have 2 girls that are 3 and 5 and I have been married for 5.5 years. I feel like it is time for me to finally shed my baby weight (can't really call it that anymore though lol) and get healthy!

Oh I just realized this is the 300 group. I hope it is still ok for me to join!! I usually post in the 100+ group but this post jumped out at me!

of course you can join, Liz!

Welcome Liz! I'm not quite 300 myself but close to it. I'm trying to ease into the exercise since I haven't worked out in a couple months. It's amazing how a few short weeks of inactivity can set you back. Ready to get back to it though!

Yesterday I did not get to walk. My back hurt so much I could not move. So I am walking today!

I over did last week but I'm feeling so much better. I got on the treadmill for 5 minutes last night just because I WANTED to. Today I did 12 minutes on the treadmill because I was really into the music I was listening to (Superchick and Beyonce). So, I've made some adjustments to my plan this week. I think I will really be able to this!!!! :carrot:

Welcome, Kat and Liz!


Week 2
Tues - 12/10
Thurs - 0/15
Sat - 0/10
Sun - 0/15

I just found this thread and have been looking for a program and some buddies to spur me along. Mind if I hop in?

Not sure my knees will ever be able to run, but to walk/run a 5k is a goal of mine!

Jan

Hi, Jan! Nice to have you!

Hope you're feeling better, sachicko!

I'm glad things are going good for you, kathy. I can tell a definate difference when I'm listening to music and when I'm not. I can push myself more when I am.

I'm having serious fatigue problems today, but I'm going to push myself to get outside. The weather has turned out nicely, which is great. But i've got to get my house cleaned first. It's a disaster! lol

Kelli

Hi Girls,
I'm getting ready to jump on the treadmill but I dont know what speed I'm suppose to start out at....any ideas? Do I do it at what I can do (usually around 2.5mph) or did I read somewhere on there that I'm suppose to do a mile in 10 minutes? Wouldnt that be around 4.0?