C25K in Five Days

So if you have ever decided to start running and you have the internet, you may have come across the Couch to 5K {in 9 weeks} running plan. Also known as the C25K. It helps you to slowly build up to running a 5K with no running experience necessary. It is great for newbies.

I actually started this plan back in January. Then, with my brother's encouragement, decided to just lose the plan and run as far as I could each day. I gradually added minutes until I had worked my way up to running for 40 minutes pretty comfortably. But then it got hot. And I got lazy and quit.

I briefly started running again in August {when we still lived in the camper}. But the hills in Chattanooga {and again the heat} did me in.

So this time around, I decided I needed motivation. Like an actual race to sign up for. I actually had my sights on participating in a Triathlon {which I still intend to do}, but seeing that it is winter, there are not many to sign up for – besides I have no desire to join a polar bear club.

A few weeks ago, a friend asked if I wanted to run a 5K with her. I told her that I was game. It would be the perfect motivation for me. In my mind, this race {The Jingle Bell Jog} was a week or two before Christmas.

I managed to run one day last week {in preparation} and then Thanksgiving took over my life. I figured I still had about 3 weeks to train, so no worries. Right?

Today Daniel told me that he thought the race was on Saturday. I told him he was wrong. And then I found my registration form and learned that I was wrong. The race is indeed on Saturday {and I skipped my morning workout to focus on a freelance project}...

Since Daniel plays racquetball on Monday nights, I decided to go to the rec center with him to put in some training time. I have 5 days of training available, so I better make the most of it...

I got on the treadmill and set it for 45 minutes and started running at a comfortable pace. If I am going to do this, I needed to see how far I can go. Amazingly I ran 3.2 miles in the allotted time. This is the farthest I have ever run {and I am essentially starting from the couch}.

To be fair, I have been alternating between a yoga and an aerobics class 4x a week for the last month, but I was still surprised that I could run the full 5K with almost no preparation. My brother was right when he told me it is mostly mental. I will probably hurt tomorrow. A lot. But if I keep running, I have no doubt I will finish my little Jingle Bell Jog and then hopefully I will be motivated to keep at it.