C25K

I am going to assume that some of you may have heard of the Couch to 5k running program. It used to be a training program you could follow online, but now it is a fantastic app for your phone. 

Disclaimer: I LOVE IT! 

Here is why. When you have never in your whole life run more than one mile at a time, the thought of running 3.1 miles without stopping is, well, horrifying. The thought of running 60 seconds at a time sounds totally manageable and doable. And that is exactly what the C25K program has you doing the first week. Your first day of training you have to run for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, alternating for a total of 20 minutes. To break that down even further for you - that comes down to only 8 minutes of running. Over the course of 8 weeks you will be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping. I know that you might be thinking that sounds impossible, but I did it! And if I can do it - you can do it, too! 

Now that I have registered for two 10k races, I am using the 10K trainer app that is also published by zenlabs. The first 8 weeks are the same exact training as the 5k, and then the next 6 weeks will push you to running 60 minutes without stopping. Right now I am about to start the 7th week of the program, and it's going great, again. I am a little worried for weeks 9-14, but the program hasn't failed me yet! 

How the app actually works: You start the workout on the app. Every workout starts and ends with a five minute walk. The app will vocally tell you when it is time to start running, when it is time to start walking, when you are halfway through the workout, and when there is one minute left in the workout. I don't have to time anything - and that's what makes it so easy! I just run or walk until it tells me to change what I'm doing. 

I hope this helps you and maybe encourages you to start running with the C25K app (and no, no one is paying me to write this review about it).