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My Couch to 5K Exercise Progress

My Couch to 5K Exercise Progress

General instructions: Precede all instructions with stretching and a five minute warmup walk. Follow with cooldown stretch. Here is the original article from Cool Running with plan instructions. Dates in a lighter grey are planned dates.

Note, June 12, 2007: On hold for 3-4 weeks due to shin splints, with a potential for stress fracture. Cardio training on elliptical machines, stationary bikes, and via walking will resume in a week.

Wk Exercise Plan Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
1 Alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Mar 8 '07 Mar 11 '07 Mar 13 '07
2 Alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Mar 16 '07 Mar 18 '07 Mar 20 '07
3 Do two repetitions of the following:
  1. Jog 200 yards, or 90 seconds
  2. Walk 200 yards, or 90 seconds
  3. Jog 400 yards, or three minutes
  4. Walk 400 yards, or three minutes
Mar 23 '07 Mar 30 '07 Apr 3 '07
4
  1. Jog 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  2. Walk 1/8 mile, or 90 seconds
  3. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
  4. Walk 1/4 mile, or 2-1/2 minutes
  5. Jog 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  6. Walk 1/8 mile, or 90 seconds
  7. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
Apr 10 '071
Apr 17 '07
Apr 13 '07
Apr 19 '07
Apr 15 '07
Apr 24 '07
5
  1. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
  2. Walk 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  3. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
  4. Walk 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  5. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
Apr 26 '072 Apr 29 '07 May 3 '07
6
  1. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
  2. Walk 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  3. Jog 3/4 mile, or 8 minutes
  4. Walk 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  5. Jog 1/2 mile, or 5 minutes
May 11 '07 May 13 '07 May 15 '07
6.5
  1. Jog 3/4 mile, or 8 minutes
  2. Walk 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  3. Jog 1 mile, or 10 minutes
  4. Walk 1/4 mile, or 3 minutes
  5. Jog 3/4 mile, or 8 minutes
May 25 '073 May 31 '07 June 1 '074
7 Jog 2-1/2 miles, or 25 minutes June 3 '075    
8 Jog 2-3/4 miles, or 28 minutes June 8 '07 July 10 '07 July 12 '07
9 Jog 3 miles, or 30 minutes July 14 '07 July 17 '07 July 19 '07

It's a huge jump from week 6 to week 7, i.e. no stretch of jogging longer than 3/4 mile to 2.5 miles. So, I stuck my own in there. I don't know if it will fully bridge the gap, but it'll get me a lot closer.

1Couldn't remember how long the walk in between the two sets was, and thought I had to get it all to add up to 2.5 miles instead of 2. Ended up walking 1/4 mile extra on the middle walk and jogging 1/10 mile less to round to 2.5 including warmup.

2Using a treadmill in a room with no circulation while extra humid from laundry didn't work. Took a 5-10 minute break for water and exhaustion after the 2nd run, only did 1/4 mile for the last run.

3First ever continuous mile in my life. Before age 30. However, did not make the last 3/4 mile stint, just a half mile.

4Ran 1 1/4 mile for the middle and 1/2 mile for the end.

5Ran on an outdoor track. Made 6 out of the 10 laps before I had to walk a half lap. Ran another lap after that, had to stop to finish water, then ran the remaining 2 laps. Was averaging a hair over 3 minutes per lap save the walking.