C25K W1D1

 

 

No, that’s not some kind of nonsensical gibberish up there in the title, just a couple of handy-dandy abbreviations.  The real meaning? Couch to 5K, Week 1 Day 1.

But the real, real meaning?  Well, C25K is a running program, designed to turn a typical couch potato (like me) into someone capable of running a 5K distance without killing themselves.   It’s an incremental program, allowing you to alternate walking and running, increasing the running time as your stamina increases.  There are lots of versions out there, all with the same basic concept and slight variations in details.  Honestly, as horrible as this is to say, I don’t even know where the original idea came from, but it’s been all the rage for a few years now.  The version I’m following is presented in an app by a group called Zen Labs, and after one day, I think it seems mostly sufficient for my needs.

Why “mostly”?  Well, because this particular program is designed to get you to the finish line in eight weeks.  There are others that go longer, I think even up to 12 weeks.  Seeing as how this is a fairly major undertaking for me, I’d think the longer I could take, the better.  Still, the app makes it easy to repeat a week if you don’t feel like you’re quite ready to move on, so that’s a plus.

So, anyway, today was day one of week one.  By design, it’s a three day per week program, so my goal is to participate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  This first day had running increments of only 60 seconds, alternated with walking for 90.  I know it sounds pretty simple, but it took every one of those 90 seconds to get myself ready for the next jogging cycle. 

But, the important thing, as far as I’m concerned, is that I’m giving it a go.  I honestly have no desire to be a “runner”, nothing on my bucket list about finishing a marathon or anything like that.  This is strictly the next tool in my weight loss/improved fitness arsenal.  I do hope that I will come to enjoy it enough that I will complete the plan—I’m not very good at sticking with things that are absolutely no fun—but I’m not looking to break any land speed records, or anything.  We’ll see what my body thinks about all of this later tonight and tomorrow morning; hopefully all my walking will at least prevent most of the muscle soreness that I’d expect to come from beginning a program of this nature.  My fingers are definitely crossed on that.

So, C25K W1D1 is in the record books, and I survived.  Taking control of my weight/health has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life, so that can’t possibly be gibberish.