Couch to 5k: does it work?

Does the Couch to 5k program work?

Short answer: Yes.

Slightly longer answer: Well, more or less. It depends.

Much longer answer: In my opinion, the main problem with the Couch-to-5k (C25k) program is the name. The name makes people think any couch potato can run a 5k in 9 weeks, and that is not the case. Some people can, others ... no.

The program is set up so that you can follow a schedule that tells you how far or how long to run each day. You can run for a specified distance or for a specified amount of time. For example: the cool runnings site shows this for Day 1 Week 4:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

When you finish the C25k you will be able to run a 5k (3.1 miles) or run for 30 minutes without a break. Not necessarily both. If you choose to run for time, you might not be up to a 5k in 9 weeks. Especially if you've been sitting on the couch for a good while.

The program can work for you, regardless of how fit you aren't, if you either concentrate on following it for distance (no matter how long it takes you to do the mileage) or running it for time (no matter how short a distance you cover).

There are people who have been couching it for so long that they can't run even for a minute. The Cool running site has a thread devoted to people who are plus-sized and trying the C25k. (Warning: it's a long thread.) Some of these people start the first week several times before they make it through. Then they keep going, which is really cool.

Obligatory note: as you suspected, I am not a doctor, nor do I know anyone who plays a doctor on TV. All I can give you is my experience and my opinion. Take them with a grain of salt and a shot of tequila. If you're really sedentary or overweight, you might have to start slow: walking or repeating the first few weeks of the C25k, whatever it takes. Read the thread above and see your doctor.

My experience with the C25k

Last year, I tried the couch to 5k program. Very slowly. I was convinced that these joints and these legs could not stand the impact of running, or even jogging. And I did have odd pains, shooting pains in the ankles, twinges in the knee. These were things that I had never felt before, so I didn't know -- were they serious? Should I stop and ice? Should I keep going?
I kept going. I just went slower if something hurt.

Usually, the pains didn't last until the next day. At the next running session, something else would hurt instead.

When I first looked at the program and saw that I was expected to jog for 20 minutes at a time in only 5 weeks, I thought they were nuts. Couldn't believe that anyone would expect a body this large to even attempt that in so short a time. Maybe some people could do it, but not me.

The thing about these programs -- the couch to 5k, Richards' schedule for cycling a century, the 100 push up challenge -- is that I always think I can't do what they're going to be asking me to do later on in the schedule.

And it's true, I probably couldn't have done the run for week 5 when I started. But I could make my sluggish body do the schedule for each particular day. I learned not to look ahead, because that would depress/intimidate/scare me.

When it came to actually jogging for 20 minutes at a time, the hardest part was nerving myself up to do it. Seriously, the problems weren't in the legs or the lungs. The brain kept saying "are you sure you want to do this?" I had to learn to switch off my brain's little voice. The best way I found to do that was music. Put on something with a good beat and I can do anything.

After I did the 20 minute jog, something fundamental changed. I saw myself differently. I'd never jogged that long in my life. All these years, I'd been underestimating what my body was capable of. Now I started to wonder what else it could accomplish if I asked.

Last year, I did the C25k very, very slowly. Like barely lifting my feet off the ground. It was jogging ... technically... but my actual forward speed was not very great.

When I reached the end of the program I could jog (trudge) for 30 minutes, but I knew that wasn't enough to get me through a 5k. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I slacked off. I spent the spring and summer walking everywhere I could.

This winter, I tried again. This time I wanted to run, actually run during the running intervals. I did pretty well with the speed until I got to the longer runs, then I had to slow it down a bit. Still, I was much faster than I had been the year before. Plus, I wasn't having all the problems with asthma that I'd been plagued with earlier. Since the asthma seems to be mostly exercise-induced, I'm guessing that the mere fact that I'd done enough exercise to build up my fitness level a bit helped me do the running. I'm still not running at the 10-minute pace, but I am actually jogging rather than shuffling my feet centimeters above the sidewalk.

Because I was so out of shape, I did the c25k for time rather than distance. Once I got up to jogging for 30 minutes at a time, I switched plans and started concentrating on distance. It took me a couple weeks, gradually increasing the length of the run each time, but I can now jog for 3 miles without stopping. Woo! I'm ready for a 5k!

The funny thing is, my joints hurt a whole lot less now than when I first started trudging last winter. I needed to do the program at slug-pace so that my body could adjust to what I was asking. Once it had gotten used to the idea, everything went much more smoothly.

One issue I still haven't been able to overcome is the dread of jogging in daylight. I can walk outside when it's light out and people can see me, but jogging? With this body? The thought makes me want to go hide in the closet. I had to find places that I could safely jog in the evening. If there was no other way to do the run, I would jog indoors. Around and around, which looks silly but is doable.

Now that I'm going to run a whole/entire/actual/real 5k, I suppose I'll have to face my fear of jogging in public around other people. I'll find a way somehow.

So if you're at a 5k race and see a woman jogging along with a bag over her head, just say "hi Merry" and pass by. I'll meet you at the finish line.

Exercise du jour: Jog 3.5 miles
Done. Nothing like getting soaked to the skin to ruin the mood. But even a bad run is better than none, so long as it's done.