My Modified Couch to 5K Running Program
TL;DR: I found the official program too aggressive, so I modified it to give a more gradual increase in duration.
Image credit: Shengpengpeng Cai
This year, I started running again. I ran cross-country in high school, competing in the 3K and 5K races, but that was 30 years and 100 pounds ago. When I decided I wanted to start running again, I knew I'd need a plan to gradually build up from basically inactive to running around 30 minutes.
I was thrilled when I found Couch to 5K, which seemed ideal. It's an eight week running program that's designed for absolute beginners to build you up to where you could complete a 5K race on week nine.
The program has you run three days a week, and incorporates a five-minute warm-up and cool-down walk, which is really helpful to avoid injuries. In week one, you alternate running intervals of 60 seconds with 90 seconds of walking. Even just a minute of running was a struggle, but it was achievable. In week, two, the intervals increased to 90 seconds, and by week four it had me doing three to five minute intervals. This gradual ramp-up was really helpful both in terms of training my body, but also building mental confidence.
However, I found that weeks five and six seemed wildly aggressive. Where every previous week has you running the same program all three days, in weeks five and six, every day is different. I was concerned, because I'd already noticed a pattern where the first day of the week with a new plan seemed like a big step up that I could barely complete, on day two I had an easier time psychologically, because I knew I could complete it. I became increasingly concerned that I was setting myself up for failure.
Annie reminded me that I'm not actually trying to compete in a race on week nine, so there's no real schedule, and I can just shuffle things around or repeat runs as I see fit, to keep my motivation high. Game changer! So with that said, here's my modified version of the official Couch to 5K running program, which adds two weeks, shuffles the runs around a bit, and ensures that I do every run at least twice for the psychological boost.
| Week | Workout 1 | Workout 2 | Workout 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. | Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. | Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. |
| 2 | Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. | Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. | Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. |
| 3 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
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| 4 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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| 5 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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| 6 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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| 7 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
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Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 20 minutes with no walking.
Originally week 5, day 3 |
| 8 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog for 20 minutes with no walking.
Originally week 5, day 3 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 22 minutes with no walking.
Originally week 6, day 3 |
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 22 minutes with no walking.
Originally week 6, day 3 |
| 9 | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 25 minutes. |
| 10 | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 28 minutes | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 28 minutes | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 28 minutes |
| 11 | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 30 minutes | Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 30 minutes | The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 30 minutes |