Couch to 5k challenge
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Couch to 5k
Started: Jan 1, 2025 Completed: Mar 30 2025
For the start of 2025, I will be trying out the couch to 5k program to help improve my cardiovascular health, do something challenging, and generally be less sedentary. The most I've run is probably 2 miles. I had done 3 days of this program in early December 2024, but fell sick.
I will be following this guide
| Week | Workout 1 | Workout 2 | Workout 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JAN 1 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1min run, 1.5min walk) x8 |
JAN 3 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1min run, 1.5min walk) x8 |
JAN 5 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1min run, 1.5min walk) x8 |
| 2 | JAN 8 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1.5min run, 2min walk) x6 |
JAN 10 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1.5min run, 2min walk) x6 |
JAN 12 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1.5min run, 2min walk) x6 |
| 3 | JAN 15 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1.5min run, 1.5min walk, 3min run, 3min walk) x2 |
JAN 17 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1.5min run, 1.5min walk, 3min run, 3min walk) x2 |
JAN 19 🟢 5min warmup walk. (1.5min run, 1.5min walk, 3min run, 3min walk) x2 |
| 4 | JAN 21 🟢 5min warmup walk. - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run, - 2.5min walk, - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run) |
JAN 23 🟢 5min warmup walk. - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run, - 2.5min walk, - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run) |
JAN 26 🟢 5min warmup walk. - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run, - 2.5min walk, - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run) |
| 5 | SICK | SICK | SICK |
| 6 (week 4 repeat) | Feb 5 🟢 5min warmup walk. - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run, - 2.5min walk, - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run) |
Feb 7 🟢 5min warmup walk. - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run, - 2.5min walk, - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run) |
Feb 9 🟢 5min warmup walk. - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run, - 2.5min walk, - 3min run, - 1.5min walk, - 5min run) |
| 7 | Feb 11 🟢 5min run 3min walk 5min run 3min walk 5min run |
Feb 13 🟢 8min run 5min walk 8min run |
Feb 16🟢 20min run |
| 8 | Feb 19 🟢 - run 5 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - run 8 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - run 5 minutes |
SICK | SICK |
| 8 | Feb 25 🟢 - run 5 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - run 8 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - run 5 minutes |
Feb 27 🟢 - run 10 minutes - Walk 3 minutes - run 10 minutes |
Mar 2🟢 25min run |
| 9 | Mar 4 🟢 25min run |
Mar 7🟢 25min run |
Mar 9🟢 25min run |
| 10 | Mar 11🟢 28min run |
Mar 14 🟢 28min run |
Mar 16🟢 28min run |
| 11 | Mar 18 30min run🟢 |
||
| 12 | Mar 24 🟢 |
Mar 27 🟢 | Mar 31 🟢 |
Journal
Day 1: I went with my friend at around 3pm. It was nice and sunny. The first day was pretty easy, a few times the outside of my left knee, I felt a little pain. that pain started a few weeks ago when i first tried the couch to 5k, and ran up a hill. I was surprised to see that my Oura ring showed that I was mostly in zone 2, which is good for fat burning and endurance.
Day 2: Went with friend in evening at 6pm. Wore new running shoes. Heart rate was apparently a bit higher, but still mostly in zone 2. Overall it definitely felt easy. The only pain was in front of my legs(upper tibia) felt a bit tight.
Day 3: Ran in a different park which felt a bit harder with slight elevation. Did a hike afterwards.
Day 4: felt pretty easy.
Day 5: Felt harder than last time. had knee pain and outside of my right foot pain. hopefully its not my shoe. also I only had about 4hrs of sleep last night so maybe that affected my recovery from last run? and also did some it band and calf strengthening exercises. So maybe I'm still recovering from that. Ill try to incorporate some stretching/yoga to help with recovery.
Day 6: ran a bit faster on the last 1.5min round. knees still hurt a little.
Day 7: 3min run was not bad. took it pretty easy. top of knees hurt a bit.
Day 8: First half felt pretty strong. towards end, get much more tired, felt heart beating hard. overall week 3 program feels shorter. for the past 2 runs, I have tried to incorporate some strength exercises after the runs.
Day 9: Went in the afternoon, so there was a bit of sun. legs felt super tired on the second 3min run. Oura ring still says I'm mostly in zone 2. I didn't get much sleep last night so maybe that contributed to my tiredness as well.
Day 10: felt nervous for the longer runs, but went pretty slow so was able to complete it without stopping during run portions. worst part was that I had a stomach ache while running and needed to poop. last 5mins was pretty hard. but got new PRs on strava for 1 and 2 miles. Oura ring said I was mostly in zone 4 which is jump from all the previous runs where i was mostly in zone 2.
Day 11: was a bit better than last time. went slower and Oura ring showed i was mostly in zone 3. stomach hurt a little in second half but not as bad as last time.
Day 12: went well, but body felt pretty sore, and weak especially during start of run.
Feb 5th: first day after being sick for a week and a half. legs felt a bit less sore than last time after that long break. still was pretty tiring. knees hurt, and slightly twisted my ankle during the run which affected my IT band.
Feb 7th: It was raining so I went to gym and used the treadmill. felt no knee pain or really any soreness at all on the treadmill. still felt pretty tired though, especially in the last 5mins.
Feb 9th: Went with friend who was way faster so felt bit more tired. A little soreness after.
Feb 11th: New progression running 5mins, 3 times with a 3min break in between. Tried to run at 170steps per minute but was only able to go for 1.5mins. Feel even more sore afterwards.
Feb 13th: was raining so went on treadmill. I survived the 8min runs. went at speed 7 in second half which I almost gave up. HR was super high this time lol.
Feb 16th: I survived the 20min run. didn't feel that much pain during. but felt pain in thighs after. felt nose irritation from cold. might be sick.
Feb 19th: felt a bit better so wanted to test out. but definitely felt sick after. maybe it was the park I ran at.
Feb 25th: back from a week break. run was pretty tiring and knees hurt again. but went to a new park with turf, and didn't feel a cold/allergic reaction coming.
Feb 27th: last of the interval runs. still really hard. what made it hard was the knee pain. stamina felt alright.
Mar 30: I haven't made journals past days, but I finally finished the program. time record is now 32:58 my next goal is probably sub 30min 5k.