Couch to 5K

We developed a new website for the C25K app. You can view it here at www.c25kapp.com for more information on recent tweets and detailed pictures on how the app looks and works on your iPhone/iPod Touch.

If you just want to purchase the app you can do this through the website or  you can go directly to this link at http://bit.ly/7QW5rh

Of course, it goes without saying that all of our followers have made this app possible through word of mouth. If you love our app and want others to reap the same benefits than please leave a review at http://bit.ly/7QW5rh.

This app has spread 100% through word of mouth. Thanks so much!

Happy Running,

Tanya

I woke up this morning with the sun shining in my room and wondered if I was dreaming. Living in the midwest during this time of year usually doesn’t offer much sunshine and then I remembered, today was the day to get up and run in my new Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) http://bit.ly/aQNgb1. I couldn’t have picked a better day to run outside than today. It was warm and sunny around 41F and boy was I happy.

I did my usual morning rituals, brushed my teeth, put on my workout gear, hair back, sunglasses on, and went downstairs for some lemon water. I decided to do some pre-run stretches because I was concerned about having muscle pain later. Well that was it,  I was ready.

I went into the mud room and slipped on my new VFFs, carefully adjusting my squished up toes into each of the independent toe areas. I walked around the room a bit to get adjusted to the feel. I noticed that my right pinky toe was not very comfortable. I decided to ignore it and out the door I went. I walked for about one to two minutes outside to get a real feel of the pavement under my feet and then off I went down the street in a jog. My goal was to not over do it, being the first day I decided to run 1.5 miles and see if I could go further from then on.

The shoes were great. I could feel my toes gripping the pavement with every step. Sure I had to be aware of what I was stepping in, but that made my run more interesting. You’d be amazed at what kind of stuff was lying on the ground other than gravel and dirt. During my run I did some interval running, completely forgetting that I was going to try to take it easy. I basically jogged and then sprinted and repeated these steps several times during my run. I had gotten to about 1.5 miles and realized that I was not going to be able to run anymore. My right pinky toe was now numb and I could feel some discomfort on the inner part of my root foot close to the heel. I decided to stop and head home. I felt good about my run, sure it wasn’t my usual 5K, but I didn’t want to overdo it with my new shoes, or so that’s what I thought.

During my walk (cool down) back home I noticed that my calves were on fire. It started getting harder and harder for me to walk. My body took on a waddling walk as I thought my calves were going to rip. Ouch ouch ouch, I thought, so much for not over doing it.  I got home and Alex started laughing at my new walking style, “What happened to you?” he asked. Wasn’t it obvious? I had to remind him about our Florida running experience in the sand and he quickly I understood. I waddled up the stairs for a warm shower.  It was then, that I noticed the blister on the inside of my right foot and my right pinky toe was red and swollen.

After the shower I took some Advil and started to do some more research on my new VFFs. Was everyone having the same problem? Yesterday on twitter one of our  C25K app (www.c25kapp.com) followers, @clairethomey  stated that she had been using VFFs since she started using the C25K program and she said she had no problems with them. She also gave me a link to http://birthdayshoes.com/. This site is dedicated to VFF fans. I was instantly hooked and subscribed to their blog posts.

Vibram Five Fingers free my feet!

I’m still sore, the Advil helped, but I am going back for more!

We all used to run barefoot as children. I remember racing my brother around the backyard and playing soccer on the grass. My mother hated my dirty feet after playing outside all day, but it felt great. My bare feet would hit the grass and then the pavement and then mud, whatever it was, without a second thought to what I had stepped in or stepped on. AHHH those were the days!

When the family and I went to Florida in January this year we ran barefoot on the sand and I realized that my chronic back pain and right leg pain issues were no longer a concern. As a matter of fact, I did not feel any tightness or soreness in these areas as I almost always did during or even days after my runs. I also felt like I was running on air. I was actually running faster, at times sprinting during my run. I remember that I felt more in control of how my feet landed on the sand. For the first time in a long time I enjoyed my run with much enthusiasm.

Looking back at that time in Florida made me think now that it all could have been the atmosphere, being in the warm sun, soft sand under my feet, waves crashing on the shore, other runners out for their morning runs, that had made me feel so liberated, but no there was something more. Despite the new calf pain that came with running barefoot, I no longer had the soreness in my back and the groin pain from my right leg. I couldn’t believe it, was running barefoot going to be the answer to me enjoying my runs more?

I decided to do some reading. I began reading the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougal (http://bit.ly/b97JzD). Great book for anyone who is interested in being a runner. I also visited numerous websites especially  www.barefootted.com. Some websites were not so inspiring, but the few that I read really tempted me further. Knowing that we signed up for a half marathon in September http://www.chicagohalfmarathon.com/ I couldn’t waste any more time. I went to a local running store and purchased these beauties: http://bit.ly/aQNgb1

I thought I might post my runs with these new shoes and perhaps we can all know a bit more about what it means to run barefoot. For now Happy Running and wish me luck. I plan on starting tomorrow!

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is: “Do you have an app for longer distances when I get done with 5k?” I’m always encouraged when I get those questions because it’s so awesome to see that so many people are not only completing the 5K plan, but also want to increase their distances as well.

I wanted to address this, so I asked my wife to help me come up with a 10k running plan. As we talked, one thing became apparent: we wanted to open up the process and ask our readers (and twitter followers) to help us create the best 10k plan.

Below you’ll see the draft plan we created. Take a look at it, and maybe even try it out. Please leave us your ideas/suggestions in the comments below. We are very excited about this and are looking forward to reading your comments.

Once we make the improvements to the plan we’re planning on releasing a beta iPhone app to go with it so you can try it out.

A long overdue blog post. But, like they say, better late then never. So here is how to use the in-app music player of the Couch to 5K app version 2.1.

Note: this only works with iPhone OS 3.0 or greater.

With previous versions of the C25K app you had to start the iPod and play music first, then open the C25K app to start the workout. This is no longer the case with the current version (2.1) of the app. With version 2.1 you should not start playing music from your iPod.

Instead, start the C25K app and select the workout day. Then tap on the “Music” button like on the image below

Adding music to the C25K app

Taping on the “Music” button will open a screen showing your iPod library. Here you choose which songs you’d like to add to the C25K music player. You can add individual songs or entire albums or playlists. Just tap the “plus” button next to the song you wish to add. Or tap the “Add all songs” to add all songs from the current selection.

Select tracks to add

When you are done selecting your music tap the “Done” button and you will be back to your workout screen where you can now start the workout and your selected music will start playing automatically.

Start workout

The music you’ve added to the C25K app is saved between the sessions. So next time you start the app to go for a run, you will not need to select the music again. You can just start the workout and your music starts playing automatically.

Happy running!