For Bigheart, while I'm thinking of it...

[siercia]

Hey, Mr Biophile6!

Have you seen / know anything about / used the CoolRunnings Couch to 5k Running Plan? Would you recommend it for a couch potato like myself? Any hints, suggestions?

Anyone else who runs is welcome to weigh in here. I ask biophile specifically because I know he runs.

Comments

[cfred.livejournal.com]

I have no input on the subject, I'm afraid, but let me know if you decide to go through with it. It looks like a good strategy, and I may have to try it as well.

[siercia]

I will absolutely let you know!

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

I also run, although I'm taking a breather (because I was stupid and tried to re-start too fast and injured myself) to work on increasing my lower-limb flexibility a bit.

It does look sensible - as a loose guideline, obviously taking into account that you should still be able to talk while you run (from the beginner's article.) However, my one concern is that it doesn't say anything about stretching, which I think is important, particularly if you haven't run before.

[rawrin.livejournal.com]

I can't agree more about the stretching part.

[siercia]

*nod* After reading your comment, I poked around on their site some more and found this. Do these look like a reasonable regiment of stretching? Too much, too little?

Also, do I know you?

s-t-r-e-t-c-h!

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

This looks like an excellent routine. Here (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0936070226/qid=1056658816/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_3/103-9127247-5451017?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) is an excellent general book on stretching, clearly and simply written, for all kinds of activities.

Luke, I am your father...

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

My sweetie navraze pointed me to your post.

Re: Luke, I am your father...

[siercia]

Haha! That's who I *thought* you might be. Hi there!

Re: Luke, I am your father...

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

Hi back! Glad to be useful. Have you considered yoga as well?

[biophile6.livejournal.com]

Wow, nice. Coolrunning is a good site. They are the ones who post results about all the races.

This is a great idea! I usually ramp up too; alternating jog and walk is a classic and serves you well. I notice in this plan theres a strong break in the seventh week, where youre supposed to run 2.5 miles, after never having done more than 3/4 ( eh, not so good). But, other than that, great!

New runners usually ramp up faster than their cartilage can build up, so after six weeks, you know whether you went at it slow enough or not. Never add more than 20% in mileage a week.

Good luck!

[siercia]

Actually, it looks like in week five you go from doing two 3/4 mile stints (with five minutes of walking in between), then to 2 miles straight through.

One thing that folks on the Weight Watchers boards have been talking about is repeating weeks (and week five seems to be one that people get stuck on) where they find they can't do the 2 miles straight through, so they end up doing something more like Day 2 (3/4 mile, 1/2 mile walk, 3/4 mile) and then Day 3 (1 mile run, 1/2 mile walk, 3/4 mile run), and slowly repeating that, adding on a little bit to Day three as the weeks go on, until they can do the 2 miles straight through. I think for them (and for me too) it's a cardio wall that they hit rather than a leg health wall, but the effects are the same.

Does that sound like a reasonable modification?

[biophile6.livejournal.com]

Yup! Dead on. Like we both say, most people cant make the leap from 3/4 to 2 miles (cardio) without a little more work. Say, on e more period up to 1.25. And like you said its not the leg health at this point, its the heart. In fact, many fine marathoners have started from heavier weights, and no history of running. They tend to have more robust joints that skinny people, and have been assumed to be capable of training harder in some circumstances. I dont know how true that is, but it seems rational.

[siercia]

Heh. Somehow I really doubt I'm ever going to make it to marathoning, although I guess you never know, do you?

Thank you so much for the tips and advice, I really appreciate it. I may be bugging you some more as I start trying to do this. I'm hoping that going with an actual goal in mind will help keep me coming back.