So I noticed no one has posted in this section in a while but I'm curious. So I think I'm gonna try to a couch a couch to 5k plan. Well it's technically called to None to Run because it focuses on time rather than distance. But I wanted to know what all the runners thought of the workout plan for a beginner that can easily walk a mile but has never ran more than what was required in middle school PE.    I'd also like to know of post workout stretches. I've found a few cool downs but not so much stretches. I was thinking of running Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with the training it lists on Saturdays. All in the mornings, it's about all my schedule will allow. 

Eventually I want to get Nikita into it but I want to get used to it and seeing if it's something I'll stick with. Plus she would have to run a lot on pavement and she just turned a year old so I'd rather wait until she's closer to a year and a half because hopefully by then I'll have moved out and she'll be able to run on grass. 

This looks like a nice gradual ramp-up which makes running fun and not too hard. I give it a thumbs up.

Make sure to get good shoes, and try to run on dirt whenever you can. Running on asphalt really does a number on your knees, especially if running on hilly streets. It was fine when I was in my 20s and 30s, but these days I stay off the asphalt, ouch.

Rumo my dog and I often jog 20-30 min slowly ( feels like a 11-12 min mile, with him trotting and not galloping). If on dirt, your dog might like going with you sometimes!

Are you going to finish your Program with a community race and a celebration? A lot of people do, you deserve it for sure!

Thanks! I know I need shoes and maybe some high vis gear because ill be running at around 6 or 6:30 and it's still dark. Any recommendations on other gear that would make it easier or safer?? When I move which is supposed to be around April there will be some grass for both me and Nikita to run on. 

The idea was first put in my head when I was interviewing for an internship at an accounting firm back in December. I forgot about until recently and decided I'd at least try it. I haven't decided if I want to do a race or not (yes I know it helps with motivation too) but I'm sure I'll celebrate somehow.

Ha ha, well with the gear of course you can always spend as much as you want! $$$
There are a lot of companies who really want to sell you shoes and gear! You can look superstylish, or look like me (sweatpants and a Tshirt) :-)

I would spend most seriously on my sneakers. There are stores where they can evaluate your stride (where you land on your foot) and depending if you tend to land on your heel, or on the balls of your feet, or whether you have a more balanced landing in midfoot, they can direct you to shoes that have cushioning in those areas. Some people even prefer "barefoot" (no cushioning at all). I found that I ran faster in barefoot, but as I got older I really wanted a nice soft thickly-cushioned shoe...

The safety-vis clothing is a great idea!

Also, wicking fabric (wicks the sweat/moisture off your body) feels more comfortable than cotton. To me, it only mattered if I wasn't showering right after the run though. Hanging around in cotton, you start to feel chilled and clammy.

Some way to easily carry your iphone (if you like to listen to music when you run, which I love).

re Stretches - better to start out at a slow warmup jog. Stretching beforehand has not been proven to be helpful at all. After running, stretch calves, hips, inside/top/backs of thighs...it would take too long to describe here but there must be a lot on YouTube!

Hmm, that's all I can think of for now!

Getting up at 6:30 to run is amazing, I never had the discipline...!!

And I do think that if you run on the grass and include your dog, you could get two things done at once (exercise your dog and yourself :-)
When I run with my dog, I do have to stop and let him sniff 2-3 times! I haven't had the heart to train that out of him yet.

I already have some workout gear because I'm one of those that wears it even without actually working out. 

Do you know which stores do the stride thing? As far as sneaker stores we only have Academy, Nike, and maybe a Skechers. As far as I know that's all we have but maybe there's some in one of the closer cities.

Thanks fort stretches! I just didn't know what to stretch, the program has a five minute warmup but not a cool down or anything. I know a few from when I twirled in high school but those were mostly for the splits..

My alarm goes off at 6 it just depends on my mood if I get up then or wait until 6:45. I'm normally good at getting up if I have something planned and I think only 3 days a week is doable, for me at least lol.

Nikita needs a little more leash training, she likes to pull. She doesn't pull terribly just constant tension on the leash. My hope is to do bikejoring or something like that with her. Maybe I'll run in the morning and train with her in the afternoon so that she can run with me.

Hmmm, they did the Stride analysis thing for me at a Dick's Sporting Goods.
And there is a Fleet Feet downtown that does it too, and it has a local running club.
Sometimes if somebody on staff is a runner, they can just watch you and see how you land!

So my husband is a very up on the "balls of the feet" runner and he needs a lot of cushioning in his forefoot. I tend to land in the middle or heel, so I have a wider range of shoes to choose from.
Just starting out, I don't think it matters as much...but as the miles rack up, you will begin to notice and care a lot about your sneakers :-)

I am not a morning person, I always felt terrible running in the morning - but your timeslot is a lot more convenient than the after work timeslot! And it will be great to beat the summer Heat.

I think we're actually getting a Dick's Sporting Goods. So maybe I'll get a good pair for now and when they open I'll check it out. I've heard a lot of good things about Nike Pegasus but I'm not sure. I love Nike but they tend to sit weird on my feet.

I'm not sure how I run, I think I hit heel but I've never consciously thought about so I don't know for sure. I'll ask around and see if I can't find someone who knows what they're doing.

I've tried working out before so I know I can get up in the morning. In the afternoon however, I have work and homework so it's a lot harder for me to get everything done and not feel overwhelmed.

I'm a Nike Zoom Pegasus user! I have kind of wide feet, and they seem to fit me well.
I also really liked my Brooks (but they get pretty pricey...so I usually go to the Nike outlet and get my Nikes for under $100. when my knees start aching, I know it's time to go get another pair - but I'm old.)

Anyway, have fun with your Couch to 5K!!
It seems like a good program unlikely to result in injury or Quitting :-)

My husband has done this. To be successful you have to be fairly disciplined. He would run when it would tell him to run but he would get bad about not pushing himself with that run. So he would doddle jog. The first bit was great because any running/jogging at all was hard for him, but he plateaued a bit once he got in a little better shape and then wouldn't push to go faster.

One of my "plateau" tricks was intervals.
Like, I would say, "When this song comes on, I'm going to go hard!" Or, I would say, "I'm going to sprint from this tree to that corner of the trail!" It helped to take the mental boredom out, if you wind up running the same loop a lot. Intervals make you faster and make the workout less boring, too...

and for me, changing my playlist helped...nothing like a good beat to keep you company. :-)

I see other people running with buddies and groups and talking, but that would drive me nuts. I like running alone (or with my dog - he doesn't chitchat).

And also, be careful!

Young woman running alone, always same loop at same time of day...it's risky.

Don't be too regular.

I have wide feet too so I'll definitely try them out! 

Thanks Jenn, for the tip. I'll try to keep pushing myself. I know it's gonna be hard on me at first but I want to do this. I just hope I can keep it up for the long run!
I'll definitely use the plateau tricks. At least right now it has built in intervals but once it's done I'll come up with my own. I need a running playlist! I forgot about that!!

We know most of our neighbors and the rest is mostly small ranches. I always have pepper spray on me and I'm going to look into other things to keep me safe. There's not much ability for me to switch it up route wise but maybe I can switch up times a bit. I can't go left from my house because it's a highway so right is the only way to go. We have a gym at my college so maybe a few days I can run on the track there to switch it up. Thanks for that idea!

I don't like most people and need some me time since I never get it especially during the week. So I don't plan on getting with a group. I'm hoping running will help destress me, I feel like I'm constantly wound up when I'm at home. My boyfriend's I'm calm and can be myself but that's only on the weekends.

For shoes:. Task an existing pair of old shoes and look at the wear pattern on the bottom. If the the heel is worn more on the outside, you are a supinator. If it's worn along the inside then your are a pronator. Equal wear, neutral.

Next, wet your bare foot and step on a piece of paper towel. If you see the outline of your whole foot with some indentation along the middle, that's neutral. If only a thin connection, or no connection between the forefoot and heel, that is a rigid foot likely to need a cushioning shoe. If the whole complete foot leaves a wet mark, than that is a mobile foot that pronates and needs stability.

https://www.runningwarehouse.com/learningcenter/gear_guides/footwear/pronation.html

That's fascinating!
I just went and looked at my sneaker bottoms, but they're too new...
I'll try the paper towel thing after dinner.

At Dick's they had this setup where you run on a treadmill and your results come up on a computer screen...kind of fun and techy!


PS And also I never knew that there was a "Couch to 5K" section of this forum, I'll have to go check it out.

I will definitely do that! I know I stand on the insides of my feet because that was wear pattern of my jazz shoes when I twirled in high school. So I'm assuming much hasn't changed there. I have terrible ankles, would a running shoes help support them properly?? I have never been able to run without them hurting. 

I was going to do all of that last night but when I got home from school my parents couldn't find Nikita so I had to go looking for her. She was stuck in a tire in the back of our property!! I swear this dogs gonna be the death of me. Luckily we got her out and she wasn't stuck very long but I was not a happy camper. So after that fiasco I fell into bed and proceeded to pass out! 

There's not a "Couch to 5k" section per se, I was just referring to the diet, exercise and weight loss section. Someone else posted about a C25k a while ago and I got some information from that. I also discovered a totally free app from that thread that closely aligns with the None to Run. So I'll check then both out and see which interface I like more.

Oh no! Nikita!!
What a mischievous husky! :-)

My dog (half german shepherd) is rather shepherdlike and never seems to do typical husky stuff. He spends his time dutifully patrolling around the house, observing things, and keeping 24/7 surveillance on my location. Even things that have moved like a trashcan lid, will get a careful sniff and be recorded. Offleash in a fenced field or dragging a long line, he will trot a bit ahead but watch me out of the corner of his eye.

And yes, if your ankles bother you...start out slow and take it easy! Stay on more level ground (and soft, whenever you can manage, i.e. if the track has one of those padded surfaces). Be careful on leaf-covered trails...I have had some of my worst ankle twists running on leaf-covered trail where a rock or a root is hidden under the leaves!

If you don't like running, there are tons of other exercise methods to try!
I really like Zumba and dance class type stuff as well...basically, whatever you think is fun and gets you moving, is good...
to me, running through the woods with my dog is probably somewhere at the top of my "favorite ways to exercise" list. :-)

PS And I could never twirl! Takes too much coordination. I imagine smacking myself repeatedly in the head with the baton.

Nikita has been my fence jumper, my digger, my crazy wild one and my sweet one! She hasn't jumped the fence since we made it taller so that gives me hope. I still have to fill in her holes but that's not a big deal. She also knows when I need her. Archer on the other hand, is calm and chill and just hangs out around the family unless he's wrestling with Nikita!

There aren't many trails around me that I can run without being trampled by a cow. Maybe sometimes I can go to the nearby parks and run for a change of scenery. There's a school track nearby that I might can run on. I know they have a bad wasp problem there though so maybe not!

I want to like running!   I love being outside and I'm cheap so I don't like spending money. I think I'll enjoy it if I can get into shape. That's gonna be the hard part for me. If I can just get past the hard stuff and build my stamina I think I'll really like it. I just can't quit when it gets hard!

I never had much coordination in my left hand, except for twirling. I can't even brush my teeth with my left hand! However stick a baton in my hands and I'll be just fine. I blame it on the fact that I broke my wrist in 6th grade and never did any sort of therapy for it. I did start twirling a couple months after it healed so maybe that's why I could do.  I've twirled with batons, flags, streamers, knives, fire, and I think that's it. I miss it sometimes but I definitely do not miss the drama that came with it!

...Streamers, Knives, Fire....!!!

The knives aren't sharp and surprisingly fun to work with! Hated streamers and flags! All they do is get tangled up if you don't do it EXACTLY right. Fire was mostly just for show so I never did anything crazy just a couple of tosses and some spinning around to make it look cool. I liked twirling with two and three batons at a time. Knives were my favorite though!

Well I just did the first workout. It was pretty brutal but now that it's over I feel good. My hip hurts kinda bad but other than that it went okay! 

I did get new shoes and I think that helped. However I forgot the high vis gear so I have to order it and hope it gets here by tomorrow night. I discovered that I overpronate so I found some shoes that were in my price range and seemed to offer the support.

Yay way to go!

Remember to take tomorrow as a rest day, then back out there Wednesday...
also, when it says "Slow Running" take it easy, it's just a jog...

Normally you might have a little muscle soreness after the run and the day after (legs feel a little stiff or achy due to unused muscles and a bit of lactic acid buildup), but if you keep having "bad pain" in your hip, maybe need to dial it back!

Try to run relaxed and be aware of how your body is feeling (are you taking shorter steps on one side, etc?)

Well I'm no fitness coach but anyway,
good start and good that you found some supportive shoes!

I think I started out too fast so by the third run I was super tired so I dialed it back and it felt more comfortable. I'm just out of shape so I expected it to be hard. After resting I feel better. 

My hip still hurts but it feels more of a soreness. I'll pay more attention on Wednesday to see if my gait is different in one side. I'm also gonna look up some better hip stretches because I know they've always been kinda tight, even when I twirled. 

Also what's a good warmup? Just a slow jog for about 5 minutes? Would a cool down jog be better before stretches? Or should I stretch as my cool down?

OK!

I think a good warmup at your level, would be to walk briskly for about 5 minutes, then start the slow jog...in fact, I think that's what the Program says! :-)

And at the end, you'll have the one last walk period, and then do stretches? ( There are stretches for hips, probably videos easier than describing by words, but I do one where I cross one leg over the other and turn my torso until I feel a gentle pull...)

Stretching after a run feels great, your muscles are warm and loose, you can get a good stretch, and it's a great way to cool down. Stretching beforehand (especially in cold weather) never felt very good or helpful, and science has proven that stretching cold muscles actually isn't that helpful. Except for maybe the sprinters and hardcore athletes who always need to stretch! For an average/amateur runner like me, just starting with a slow jog always seemed to work fine, and feel good.

Bit of a sore hip is probably OK...if you would describe it as Pain, be careful! There's no hurry to make it to the 5K (not like you are training for a deadline or a race) so do what feels good!

You're right it does say to walk briskly! My bad! 

My hip seems better already. It still hurts but I can walk without pain again. I've been slightly stretching it while sitting around doing homework. I found a few hip stretches that I'll do as well as some others to make sure I don't get stiff.

Thanks for all of your help!!

Sure!
I was surprised more people don't like to talk about running.
Seems like just us two.

There are lots of runners around our town (I live in a college town) and running groups, too. Lots of people blow by me...one of the most impressive groups is the high school boys crosscountry team...they are motoring along and make me feel like I'm standing still! :-)

But I try to remind myself that I'm out there for Me...not to impress anybody. :-)