The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week five, day two.
Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. 8 minute run. 5 minute walk. 8 minute run. Five-minute cool-down walk.
Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 139 bpm and peaked at 163 bpm. Including the warm-up and cool-down walks, I did 2.15 miles in 35:20 for an average speed of 3.66 mph.
The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week five, day one.
Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. 5 minute run. 3 minute walk. 5 minute run. 3 minute walk. 5 minute run. Five-minute cool-down walk.
Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 130 bpm and peaked at 154 bpm. Including the warm-up and cool-down walks, I did 2.00 miles in 34:43 for an average speed of 3.45 mph.
The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week four, day three.
Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then two repeats of: three minute run, 90 seconds walk, 5 minute run, two and a half minute walk. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk.
Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 117 bpm and peaked at 144 bpm. Including the warm-up and cool-down, I did 1.79 miles in 32:06 for an average speed of 3.35 mph.
I have been wondering what makes week four so difficult. It seems so much harder than week three. I now know why. I took a look at the program and added up the total run times for the interval run segments. I think my calculations are right. Here is how the runs add up:
The remaining weeks are run only, progressing up to 30 minutes. Here is what we can see from the run time totals. Once you start, the entry levels don’t change much for the first three weeks, only increasing by one minute of running time. However, there is a substantial increase from the nine minutes of running in week three to the sixteen minutes of running in week four. This is why it feels so difficult. There is 77% more running in week four than in week three. But, you’re prepared for it. The first three weeks teach you how to push through when you don’t feel like running. In week four, you push through again, going at a little slower pace if you need to. It seems there are two gently sloping plateaus in the Couch to 5K program. There is the initial jump from nothing to the entry level plateau. There is a second jump from week three to week four, which gets you from the entry level plateau to the finishing level plateau. Once you get through week four, the percentage increase per week and per workout reduce. The mixing of the intervals in week six after only running at the end of week five teaches you that it is easier to keep your rhythm and to keep moving, than it is to stop the rhythm and then have to reacquire it again for the next run interval. Completion of the Couch to 5K program is within your grasp. Keep at it! You can do it!
The C25K program consists of three workouts per week for nine weeks. This is the results of the workout for week four, day two. Program: Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then two repeats of: three minute run, 90 seconds walk, 5 minute run, two and a half minute walk. Brisk five-minute cool-down walk. Result: I completed the workout as planned. My heart rate averaged 131 bpm and peaked at 151 bpm. Including the warm-up and cool-down, I did 2.00 miles in 34:10 for an average speed of 3.52 mph. The workout today was a little better. Though the temperature was nice in the mid-60s, humidity was 90% when I started, not so nice. It balanced out to 70F/70% by the end of the workout. After downing half a PB&J before stretching, I had a bit more energy than on day one. I started the first run segment a little slower also, which saved some energy for later. I normally run with my elbows bent and hands loosely held up in front of my chest. Later in the day one workout, I found my hands dropping down closer to my waist. This time, I had the energy to keep them up, barely. I’ve heard it said that new gadgets can provide motivation. I had done a pre-order on a Garmin Forerunner 405CX, which included a ‘free’ Garmin Forerunner 50. The 50 has done well tracking heart rate for a while, but it will be nice to combine the GPS and timing into one device. The 405CX arrived yesterday. But, back to the gadget motivation. In the second five minute run, Ullrey makes a comment about picking up the pace for the last minute. As nice as this gadget is, it did not provide more energy. It did let me see that my speed dropped below 4.0 mph for that last minute of the run, though. I got a bit of a treat at the end. The second five minute run interval ended just onto the grass of the park. So, I pulled off my VFF Classics and did most of my cool-down by walking barefoot through the cool grass. That was lovely, like getting a foot massage. The cool grass is one benefit of changing from an evening to a morning workout. I’ll have to try to time future workout routes to see if I can get a repeat.