My sweet friend, Des, from Macke Monologues, is co-hosting a virtual 5k. For some reason I momentarily lost my mind and signed up.
Des is hosting a link up for those who signed up where we can write down our plans on how we’re going to get ourselves ready for this 5k.
Let me back up and tell you my ‘running story’. About 2 years ago or so I started the Couch to 5k program. I didn’t make it very far into it because 1.) I had shin splints like crazy and it took me a bit to get over those and 2.) I got pregnant. Then I lost that baby at 21 weeks gestation. After healing from that a bit I decided to start the C25K program again. This time I had a treadmill and it made it so much easier on my legs. I actually completed it! I felt so good. The first time after that (just a few days later) I jumped on the treadmill to try cranking out a 30 minute run, which I had just done at the end of that program, I barely last 5 minutes. Say what?!? I was so mad at myself. I tried again the next day, same thing. What happened? Guess what, I was pregnant again. I didn’t have any endurance built up, combine that with the exhaustion of my 1st trimester and I just didn’t have it in me to run.
Now I have Mr. Tate, who is 5 1/2 months old, and I have no excuses not to try running again. I have wanted to run a 5k for a very long time, and my sister has asked me to run a couple with her but I have not been ready to try getting to that point again … until now. This virtual 5k is the perfect way for me to get in gear and actually run a 5k without the scariness of someone watching me the first time.
I can’t decide if I should do C25K again or if I should just gradually lengthen my run time with walking, similar to what the program does. Any suggestions? I have less than 8 weeks, the program is 9 weeks long, although I would probably just attempt to run/walk every other day so would speed up the time frame of C25K. What do you all think I should do?
I’m giving this running thing one more shot. If it doesn’t ‘catch’ then I’m going to get T25 and really kick my ass. #djv5k
I think you should stick with a program like C25K or something else that structures it for you. I find that when I do it on my own, it's way too easy to let my mind take over and say 'that's enough for today'... having the structure really helps me! Good luck, I know you can do it!
ReplyDeleteHave you looked into Hal Higdon's programs? I'm a huge Hal advocate. I feel like his programs are gradual enough, but give just the amount of push needed to challenge yourself. He has a novice 5k program that might be worth checking out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.halhigdon.com
So glad you're joining us and thanks for linking up! I'm a big fan of Hal Higdon too. I've followed his novice program before and I like it better than C25K. I'm not a fan of run/walk programs. I like to run slower, work on my distance then work on speed. I too get shin splints really easy and I've found that running slower at first keeps them at bay better. Good luck and can't wait to see how you do! Holler if you have any questions!!
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