Couch to 5K Experience

10/10. Recommend to everyone.

Let me give you some context. I am reasonably fit. I wouldn’t call myself sporty but I did grow up in the countryside with parents who loved to take my siblings and I out for a family cycle, or to climb a hill at the weekends. To keep myself fit now, I walk to work and I try to swim once a week. This routine has worked for me.

Due to the 2020 pandemic I have found myself furloughed. This has been a challenge in many ways and my physical health is if course one of them. No longer walking to work, no longer standing on my feet for 7.5 hours and certainly not going for that weekly swim.

I first heard about Couch to 5K in 2019 when I listened to a discussion on the radio after the London Marathon. Having been out myself to support the runners, I was energised due to the achievements of others. I remember thinking that the programme sounded like an easy way to get a bit fitter and for the life of me I cannot remember why I didn’t download it right there and then.

After three weeks at home, going for one walk each day and taking part in home workouts which I discovered on YouTube, I found myself really lacking motivation. Uninterested and honestly quite concerned about letting myself go, I decided to try something different.

What surprised me the most was not how manageable the programme was, but how much I was really enjoying it. I found myself calling my mum after each run, glowing with pride and insisting that she must take part too. It put me in such a good mood. Although sleepy sometimes, it was the perfect start to the day. By week 6 I honestly felt fitter than I ever have been.

I have finished the programme now. Looking back, I can’t remember the person who would get a stitch after trying to jog for two minutes. I feel like a runner and I can’t believe how much nine weeks has impacted my life.

Hopefully this a hobby which I keep up and I hope that I can push myself do even better. I have decided to keep up the 30 minutes of running and I am going to aim for twice a week because I would be a fool to let all this good work go to waste. Perhaps in a years time I will consider training for a 10k.

I would love to hear about other experiences with the programme! Please let me know if you have started it or are debating giving it a go.