With the week coming to a close, I’ve completed yet another week of my Zen Labs Couch to 5K program and I’m on my way to hopefully being able to run my first full 5K race. Week 5 definitely came with it’s challenges as two of my three days were spent running indoors on the treadmill due to timing issues. Day one seemed to be a normal routine and I’ve definitely become accustomed to it.
Week 5 Day 1 (31 minutes)
5 minute warm up
5 minute jog
3 minute walk
5 minute jog
3 minute walk
5 minute jog
5 minute cool down
Day two of this week’s training brought me less intervals with higher run times. While they weren’t any issues I definitely found myself noticing the additional run time the training program threw in, but I survived. Day two was done indoors on the treadmill as I had to resort to an evening run and it was just too hot outside. Needless to say I still sweat my butt off even though I was indoors.
Week 5 Day 2 (31 minutes)
5 minute warm up
8 minute jog
5 minute walk
8 minute jog
5 minute cool down
Day three however brought the ultimate surprise for me. See I normally pay attention to what the program has in store for me but for some strange reason I failed to check ahead to see what day three had to offer. I was actually quite shocked after I finished my five minute warm up and the program told me to jog for 20 minutes. Yes that’s right the program had me running for 20 minutes which the wife came running into the spare room as I started yelling obscenities as I’m running. I accomplished the entire 20 minutes without slowing down or stopping at all. The pace remained consistent throughout the entire run and I finished strong.
Week 5 Day 3 (30 minutes)
5 minute warm up
20 minute jog
5 cool down
With my first five weeks in the books I’m feeling more confident about being able to run a full 5K from start to finish, but I’m still a bit off from accomplishing this goal that I’ve set for myself.
For those who have done the Couch to 5K, which portion of the training did you find the hardest? How did you manage to make it through?