By Kevin (Shooting the Breeze)
I want to share with you a running program that I have used to help me go from couch potato to runner! It is called the Couch to 5K program. This is a fantastic program that's been designed to get just about anyone from the couch to running 5 kilometres (that is 3 miles for my friends in the USA) or 30 minutes in just 9 weeks! Its secret is that it's a gentle introduction to getting the body moving, starting off alternating between walking and running small distances, and slowly building up until after 8 weeks, you're ready to run 5 kilometres or 30 minutes non stop.
Too many people have been turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their bodies’ rebel and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves. This was me! I must say that I was a little sceptical when I started the program. I hadn’t run in more that 20 years but it worked! By following the easy schedule outlined by the program I was able to overcome my scepticism.
Each session should take about 20 or 30 minutes, three times a week. That just happens to be the same amount of moderate exercise recommended by numerous studies for optimum fitness. Be sure to space out these three days throughout the week to give yourself a chance to rest and recover between efforts. And don't worry about how fast you're going. Running faster can wait until your bones are stronger and your body is fitter. For now focus on gradually increasing the time or distance you run.
Here is the schedule:
Week One: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Week Two: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Week Three: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)/Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)/Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)/Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Week Four: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)/Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Week Five: Day 1 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Week Five: Day 2 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)/Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Week Five: Day 3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking. 6
Week Six: Day 1 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Week Six: Day 2 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)/Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)/Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Week Six: Day 3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking. 7
Week Seven: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
Week Eight: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
Week Nine: Day 1-3 Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
I am planning on re-starting the program. Unfortunately, I stopped running through the summer because of busyness but I am ready to get going again! Who is willing to join me in getting off the couch and starting running?
Kevin Martineau has been married 16 years and has three beautiful daughters (10, 7 and 4). He has the honour of serving God through his role as Pastor at Port Hardy Baptist Church on Northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He enjoys blogging, reading, photography and watching hockey.
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 7:00AM 
You don't have to be a runner to know the importance of a finish line. But to anyone who runs in organized races the finish line is something you loooong to see, no matter how long the race.