Couch to 5K

I am happy to present a new motivating and inspiring interview from one of our C25K app users. Conan had emailed us last week with his emotional testimonial of how the app has changed his life for the better. His fitness level has improved as well as his marriage.

After reading his email I had to respond with gratitude for sharing with me his good news. I couldn’t resist asking Conan to share his story so he graciously volunteered. Our hopes are that through our growing community of runners we can help motivate and influence each other through fitness and health awareness. By sharing our experiences with each other we can learn from our mistakes as well as our successes.

Conan has also been posting his progress on his blog http://lloydhouse.wordpress.com where you can visit and perhaps encourage him on his fitness journey.

In the Q&A section below Conan shares with us his running success story:

1. Question: How did you find out about the C25K program? When did you start the program?

Answer: I had been using a treadmill as an attempt to get healthy but wasn’t really serious about it. One day I was cruising the forums of another iPhone health app called LoseIt! and noticed several posts about the C25K program.  I replied to one of the posters and she pointed me to your app. I immediately liked how it eased me into running.  I did not expect to end up liking running itself or to be looking forward to the next run, but I now am. Best $$ I have spent at the App Store yet!

2. Question: Share a little bit about yourself? (i.e. age, gender)

Answer: I’m a 39 year old, (40 in August) IT geek with 3 wonderful kids and a beautiful wife.  I come from a line of men with heart issues but still allowed myself to get about 70 pounds overweight.  June 09 I had a minor heart attack and changed my diet for about a month before falling back into old habits.  I couldn’t seem to make myself stick with any exercise plan either.

What made it worse was that my wife felt that I didn’t care about my health and it would eventually kill me, probably sooner rather than later.  Since she lost both her parents due to their not taking care of themselves, she started pulling away from me. Since then, seeing me take up running and stick with it has helped us get over those issues and we are a stronger couple for it.  So I literally believe C25K helped save my life & my marriage!

3. Question: Do you use any other gadgets during your runs?

Answer: I just started using Nike+ to better track my distance & speed when I run outside.  I also just purchased a heart rate monitor to keep better track of my heart rate & calorie burn.

4. Question: You said you ran your first 5K? How did you decide that you wanted
to run the race and what was your experience like?

Answer: I decided to run a 5K because that was the goal of the program and I needed a concrete goal to work toward.  I chose the particular one I did because it was reviewed as a fun run and good for beginners.

The race was fun.  Since it was a chip timed race, I wasn’t worried about my starting position and waited for the initial crowd to disperse before taking the road. I ended up having to switch to walking a few more times than I wanted to, so I started setting a goal to run to instead of a time. “OK, I’ll run to that light, then see how I feel” and the like.

Funny thing happened at the end of the race. My friend had previously told me to pick a person at the end that I wanted to pass as that would give me the final “umph” to finish well, so I picked my person and looked to pass them as we rounded into the last .1 mile. I realized I had picked a walker which would be no challenge to pass and that annoyed me, so I looked for the next person.

That person was quite a few strides ahead of me and I would not be able to catch them at my current pace. That’s when something weird happened. I suddenly found myself running full speed to the finish line. As I curved onto Market and could see the finish line ahead of me, I was running full out. In the back of my mind I realized that I had just heard Wee One scream “Go Daddy!” but I didn’t see her. I was focused on that guy I wanted to beat. I passed him just before the finish line and staggered to a halt right after the line. I had done it.  I got a bit teary when my kids & wife met up with me for hugs, but it was awesome.  Can’t wait for my next 5K, which I have already registered for in May.

Oh, and my time was 41:29

5. Question: Any big motivators during your workouts that have helped you to keep running?

Answer: The way C25K has small goals helped immensely.  Running the whole thing, not possible.  Running for 3 minutes, sure!  OK, I did 3 minutes, can I do 5? And so on.  More importantly, I now “own” my health.  C25K helped ease me into running and I discovered that I like it.  I would not have been able to turn in my time at the 5K without the app and I would not have continued with running or even registered for another race.

6. Question: Have you lost any weight, if so how much?

Answer: I have lost about 15 pounds so far.  More importantly, all my clothes are looser and I have more stamina.  I can play with my kids without getting as winded.  My 12 year old son even goes out for runs with me when he’s at my house.

7. Question: Since you completed the 5K what are your future plans? 10K? 1/2 marathon?

Answer: I actually had 3 goals for the 5K:  1. Finish the darn thing, 2. Finish in under 50 minutes, & 3. Run the whole distance.  Due to weather & real life issues, I only got to Week 5 in the app before the race came so I was not able to check off that 3^rd goal yet.  As a result I have already registered for another 5K.  My plan is to keep doing 5K races until I finish with ease, then start 10K races and do the same with them.  After that, who knows?  I’d like to do the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC just to say I did it and the idea of a triathalon intrigues me.  Have to get my shoulder fixed and some swim lessons before I tackle one of those though.

8. Question: Would you recommend the 5K to your family, friends, and co-workers? If so, Why?

Answer: I would absolutely recommend a 5K race to anyone.  Doesn’t matter if you run the whole thing or walk it.  Early on in the program I mentioned to my friend that I was afraid of coming in dead last.  She said something that has become my mantra since then.  “Even if you do, you still have come in ahead of all those people still at home.”

I can’t describe the feeling of finishing that race, everyone should feel like that sometime.  C25K works, especially if it can get a couch potato like me to enjoy running.  Your app made me feel like I could do it, so I did.

Another reason I would suggest it is that it’s fun to hear “You did what?  YOU ran a 5K?” from friends and then see the wheels turning in their head.  “Hmmm, if he can do it, maybe I could too”

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Thank you Conan for sharing your story with us.

If you have a success story and want to share it with us please email me at tanya@runhelper.com

Ever wonder why sometimes you just can’t lose those extra pounds? Weight loss programs, television shows, magazines, and fad diets galore are all around us. We can’t hide from the fact that we are just getting bigger and bigger. Anyone seen the movie Wall-E? How everyone aboard the ship was obese, not exercising, floating around in their hover chairs. That movie made me think twice the next time I wanted to gulp down a mocha frappaccino. Odd how an animated movie can have such an impact, but soon even that fades back in my memory, and I am back to the mocha.

Ideally, I believe that we have to be happy with the way we look and feel.I’m not saying one needs to be thin to be happy, but that everyone needs to find out what is best for them. I always told myself, yeah “I could lose a few pounds,” but then continued eating whenever and whatever I wanted.

Over a year ago, Alex and I started running. He has slimmed down quite a bit, but I on the other hand, did not lose even an ounce. Why was life was so cruel to me? Why did I not reap the same benefits? After all I was running 3 miles 3 times a week as well. I just didn’t get it.

That’s when our recent ski trip put things into perspective. My friend, the expert skier, wanted to show me that I could go down a bigger mountain instead of all the easy, now boring, slopes I was skiing on. She told me that I just needed to “Commit” to turning left to right, and then just do it. See, I was scared to go down an intermediate hill because I knew I was going to speed down at top speed fall and quite possibly injure myself in the process. However, she saw my potential, she saw that I mastered the easy slopes without a problem. I thought to myself “commit to the turn,” “commit to the turn.” Needless to say that became my new mantra, basically the whole way down the mountain and then I realized that I did it. She was right I just needed to commit myself to making the right moves.

During our ski trip we shared a condo with one of my friends who had lost over 30 pounds herself in the past year and I just envied how good she looked and her new sense of accomplishment, pride, and renewed self confidence. I thought “I want that.” I noticed how devoted she was to her new weight loss: making sure she ate smaller portions and not overdoing it on sweets. I thought to myself how could she possibly be happy rejecting a bite of that delicious chocolate smothered cake? I of course ate as much of the chocolatey goodness I wanted, and then groaned in the morning when my ski pants were tighter than the day before. I was frustrated and so then I asked her, “how did you do it?” She said one word “Commit!”

I wondered if my two friends had something going. Commit to turning down the mountain, commit to a healthier lifestyle. Why had I made the decision to go down that mountain? Because of my friend? or the fact that deep down inside I knew I could it. After all I just needed to commit to the turn! The end result? An overwhelming sense of achievement, pride, and the desire to go down again and again this time without fear, just fun!

Now I  am going to choose to commit to losing weight, the healthy way. Which means I have to give up a lot of the unhealthy foods I eat on a consistent basis, like chocolate. Wish me luck and I hope that you too will choose to just, “Commit!”

Rest, rest, and more rest, Advil and plenty of water helped me recover somewhat from my running workouts last week. My calves and right pinky toe were in pain after my initial workout last week, so much so, that I had to run slower and shorter distances. I took rest periods between days 2 and 3, but it didn’t help much. I also made sure that I frequently stretched as much as possible.

Alex insisted we run outside on day 3. Of course I couldn’t refuse. It was sunny and warm. We were planning to run on the downtown river walk during our lunch hour, and without having to push the kids in the jogger. What more could I ask for?

Turns out that if you are having pain with walking, then running outside would most likely be a bad idea too. I survived the first 1.5 miles before I had to walk, and even that was painful. I didn’t know what was worse, walk the rest of the way and take longer or jog. It really wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. Alex felt really bad for me and I of course felt bad for ruining his run. He decided to stay with me anyway

Day 4:

Madelyn was in preschool, Ella was with me at home, and again the weather, gorgeous. Alex had asked me to meet with him at the gym to go for a run. He didn’t want to attempt outside running again . I thought to myself, why don’t I try outdoor running by myself with Ella in the jogger?  I went to the garage and put the jogger together. The weather had been so deceiving from the inside of the house. Yeah sure the sun was out, but I didn’t account for the wind. As I was running I felt as if I was taking 2 steps back with each stride.

Again I only ran 1.5 miles, but this time I noticed that my calves were not bothering me as much. I was getting excited. Was the pain in my toes and calves going away? Was I finally conditioning those unused muscles? It appears to be that way, because after the run I really didn’t have any lingering pain. I was able to walk up and down the stairs with mild discomfort. Yipee!

My next task is to attempt to run a longer distance and see how far I can go!

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!