I’m currently entering week six of couch to 5k so I thought I would write a little update about my progress so far.
It’s strange starting over again. I’ve gone from being a long distance runner having completed the London Marathon in 2019 and the Cardiff Half Marathon twice to finding myself doing a mixture of walking and running over a shorter distance.
I couldn’t run for three months due to a tibial stress-fracture and figured the best way to get back into the swing of things would be to start couch to 5k. It’s a decision I’ve not lived to regret. It’s been a great way of easing myself gently back into running. Granted the first few weeks of walking for the majority of the ‘runs’ was slightly frustrating as I just wanted to run, but I know now in hindsight it was the best option for me in terms of returning to running without further injuring myself and giving my leg the best chance of healing.
As I approach week six I now find myself running more than walking which is great! Each week is made up of three runs. Week five is the first week where each run is different.
The first run of week five consists of a 5 minute warm up walk followed by a 5 minute run, 3 minute walk, 5 minute run, 3 minute walk, 5 minute run and than a 5 minute walk to cool down.
The second run of week five consists of a 5 minute warm up walk followed by an 8 minute run then a 5 minute walk followed by another 8 minute run before finishing with a 5 minute walk to cool down.
The third run of week starts with a 5 minute warm up walk, then a 20 minute run and a five minute cool down. This has been my favourite run so far! Probably because it’s the longest I’ve run for in quite a while!
I even managed a bike ride my husband followed by a run so naturally I treated myself to a Creme Egg afterwards!
So, so far things are going well and I hope to be back to my normal running soon!
If you’re thinking about running I can definitely recommend the couch to 5k app. It’s awesome!
