A little of what I have learned.
Today is day two of my training for C25K -- otherwise written as W1D2 ... week one, day two. I plan to post weekly updates, so more on my training later.
For now, I wanted to post all of the information for the training program in one place. Right here.
The premise behind C25K is that it is a program designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometers -- or 30 minutes -- in 9 weeks. There are several different C25K training programs out there, however I am using the program designed by the people who first came up with it ---> Cool Running.
You can find the training program here.
You will see that as you go through the weeks, you increase your intervals of running and walking. Week one starts you off running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds for 20 minutes ... which I believe ends up being about eight reps.
Instead of using your watch to time your intervals ... you can download a podcast. The podcast has music to get you in the mood ... and a voice over to tell you when it is time to run and when it is time to walk.
Awesome.
You can find Ullrey's podcast here.
And here is a sample of Ullrey's podcast ...
I found that I was not a fan of the music on Ullrey's podcast ... so I found an alternate that uses hip hop music. I am not necessarily a hip hop fan, but it gets me in the mood to run more than Ullrey's music does.
You can find the hip hop podcast here.
And here is a sample of the hip hop podcast ...
The one most important thing I have learned through all of this is that your shoes matter. They matter! I understand that some people do not have it in their budget to get fitted for a proper pair of running shoes, but I encourage you to do it as soon as you can. Wearing the wrong shoe can cause injury ... and we do not want that because you are going to cross that finish line with us.
When I went to be fitted for my shoes, I first ran on a treadmill while they videotaped the back of my foot to see if -- or how much -- I was pronating. I did pronate slightly and needed a shoe with a little help. After being videotaped with the proper shoe on my foot, I had no pronation and my feet were a perfect 90 degree angle to the ground.
It matters.
Two more important things regarding your feet ...
1) Your running shoe be a half to a full size larger than your normal shoe size. Yup ... that means my amazon shoe is a 10 1/2. Ha. Your feet sweat, swell and move around when you run ... you have to give them room to do so.
2) Wear dry fit running socks. The socks that they sell in running stores are there for a reason. You will notice an incredible difference ... so just know they are worth the investment!
You can find more tips for beginning runners here.
And the Lord knows I still have a lot to learn about running. So feel free to share what you have learned so that everyone can benefit. We will do this!
Don't forget to link up on Mr. Linky below if you will be blogging about your training. I have also created a facebook group so that we all have a mutual place to share our stories, ask questions and support one another.
You can find the Operation C25K facebook group here.
And don't forget to enter for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate and an iPod Shuffle ... the contest ends tomorrow!
Oh ... whenever you need an extra boost to get up off that couch, then watch this.
