Joel: Couch To 5K? More Like Couch To EKG

Well, yesterday I tried to do Week 1, Day 1 of the Couch To 5K program. Wow, that was intense. It was supposed to do a warm-up walk for 5 minutes and then alternate 60 seconds running and 90 seconds walking for 8 cycles, then do a warm-down walk for another 5 minutes.

What happened was that I walked for 5 minutes, did 3 60/90 cycles, then limped along for the next 6 minutes until I could crawl into my truck. I bought this cool C25K app for my iPhone and was jamming along to my music and as I was limping along at the end, I heard the guy telling me to run. Then after what seemed like an eternity, he said I could walk again. I cracked up.

But I did get about 16 minutes of exercise in, and I did actually run for three straight one-minute segments. I've come to realize that I go about 75 steps with each foot in a minute, so even if I don't have my phone or a stopwatch with me, I can still estimate how much running I've done.

Today, I boycotted physical activity in commemoration of the new semester. Tomorrow, I'll do a more reasonable approach to running, which will include better stretching beforehand and longer segments of walking between. The one that has worked best for me so far has been walking 4 minutes and running 1. If I do that four times, I can pace it out more thoroughly, and I still get 20 minutes of exercise in. Including 4 minutes of running.

Oh yeah, I have lost about 3 pounds since January 1st, so I'm pretty much on track. They say if you lose about a pound a week, it's a healthy pace. But I want to lose it all NOW!

Oh well, tomorrow's a new day!