I’m A Marathoner Starting From The Couch

This past July, I really wanted to run the Peachtree Road Race, but I was NOT ready. Not to mention, I had so much going on that I forgot to enter the lottery. That’s why I can’t believe I’m this typing, but…

I’m a marathoner starting from the couch. Yes, I’ll be starting COMPLETELY fresh with everything. Sounds kinda weird, right? Here I am a 4 x marathoner and a 14 x half marathoner starting from the couch working my way back to a 5K (3.1 miles). But you know what? That’s quite all right!

People ask me all the time, “how do I become a runner?” I say, “put one foot in front of the other.” You don’t have to be fast or a sprinter, or have ran track in college…it’s a free gift, and you just have to use it. Even if you want to walk at whatever pace you desire, you can still complete a 5K, 10K, 15K and become a half-marathoner or a marathoner. It’s all about tackling the distance!

There are several couch to 5K programs out there, and I’m sure any of them will work fine. I use “The Official Couch to 5K” by ACTIVE Network (I paid for it, so I’m using it).

Here are the features:

• Training plan designed by Active.com trainers
• Choose from 4 different motivating virtual coaches—Johnny Dead, Constance, Billie or Sergeant Block
• Hear human audio cues to guide you through each workout
• Listen to your favorite playlists with in-app music player
• Calculate your distance & pace and map your routes with FREE GPS support
• Log your workouts and share your progress on Facebook
• Get support from the largest running community on Active.com Trainer
• Repeat workouts and track your best performance
• Treadmill support allows manual entry of workouts
• Track your progress with total distance and average pace
• Graphs for workouts to compare distance and pace

Sounds pretty sweet, right?

If you are looking for a great way to train for your first 5K without “hiring” a trainer, this app will do just that. You will love the prompts and Sergeant Block will definitely keep you on your toes! So whether you are just starting out or returning to pavement, you can do it! Preachin’ to myself here. If you need some training and motivation tips, check out these awesome tips from Olympian, Jeff Galloway.

Try out the Couch to 5K app and tell me what you think!