So you finally decided to get off the couch into a 5K. First, congratulations. It’s great you made the jump and for joining me here on Runner's High. Today, I'm gonna give you my top three tips considering you've never done this before and you're just getting going, for you to complete your program, couch to 5K.
Even though I've been running for a considerable amount of time, I want to say this, genuinely, you are doing exactly what you need to be doing and you should be proud of yourself. Maybe not everybody around you is saying that. Maybe you're getting negative things, people saying, “Well, why are you doing that? Are you gonna do okay?”
It depends on you and your family, your support system, whether you have that positivity or negativity. But if you don't have that kind of positive atmosphere around you, know that you're doing the right thing for you. And it's awesome that you're getting going.
So, do not be discouraged by the people around you. Try to shut them out as best you can. But I know sometimes that's tough. So, if you need encouragement, shoot me a message, hang out with me here on the channel, hit that subscribe button. I've got more motivational messages for you. But know that you're doing the best thing for you. So, I'm gonna give you three tips that can help you be successful in your training going from couch to 5K today.
First and most important, take it slow, follow the program. It's easy to get tempted to do something different. Oh, I feel good today. Maybe I can do extra or I'm a little off, maybe I should do less. Couch to 5K's been successful for a lot, a lot of people.
Now, I do talk a lot about specializing your training so that you're getting the most out of your particular situation. But couch to 5K's kind of a battle-tested program ?? 01:58> done a lot of things to make sure that you're going to be successful with what their tips are.
Stick with the program, you're going to be fine. But take it slow. Don't try to speed things up. If you feel great, stick with the program. Don't go faster. Just stick with the program. Consistency is key. And I talk about that a lot here on this channel, here on my episodes of Runner's High, always about consistency. So, when you're feeling good, stick with it, don't go fast.
If you're feeling bad, just stick with it, you're gonna get those rest days, you're gonna feel better. It's gonna be a struggle, and you're getting to know your body. You're getting to know, how does this feel? What does this feel like? How should I feel? What do I feel like in different phases? It's all gonna be new to you. And that's okay. It's kind of an exploration of what you can do, and what your body can do. So, take it slow, and stick with the program.
My second tip, accept that it's not going to be perfect. You may have expectations that, yes, it's going to be this way, it's going to be that way. I'm going to hit every single thing, it's going to be absolutely awesome. I’m gonna do a 5K and it's gonna be great. But things are gonna go off the rails.
Yes, like I said in tip number one, take it slow, stay with the program, but know that sometimes stuff hits the fan. Sometimes you have to adjust and you do the best that you can. This happens to all of us. It's gonna happen to you.
It's happened to me plenty of times over the 20 years I've been running. You just adjust, that's life. You know, something happens, you make it up if you can. If you can't, then onto the next day, that's just what you do. The big thing like I mentioned before, consistency is key.
So, if you miss a day, do your best not to miss anymore days. The less days you miss, the more complete your schedule, the better you're going to be both physically and mentally when you're ready to get to that starting line to do your first 5K.
My third and final tip, again, these are all kind of mental tips, but it's important. That's probably the most important part here for you is the mental tips is number three, regardless of the outcome, whether you make it to the starting line, whether you make it to the finish line, whatever happens, realize you're making progress.
You know, there's a lot of motivational quotes out there and kind of the phrase that, well, if you're not on the couch, you're out there, you're lapping all the people on the couch, and that really is true.
When you're out there, you're doing things for yourself. Remember, this is for you. When you're doing those things for yourself, you are helping you be better and be able to accept more self-love. Which it gets into a whole different aspect. But that's so important that you love and respect yourself. And sometimes that takes work, and that's okay. Because you're investing in yourself no matter what happens.
Whether you actually finish that 5K or you just continue to struggle forward, and you have to do it a second time to finish it. Whatever it is, you're making progress. You can only measure your goals based on your own situation. You don't measure against me, you don't measure against other racers, you measure against yourself.
Growing up, I've had a lot of different coaches. One of the best tips I got from my coaches, both high school coaches, college coaches, they all had this very similar sentiment. Put in the training, the times will take care of themselves. And in your case, put in the training, finishing by the time, whatever it is you're concerned with, it'll take care of itself.
When you take care of you, when you take care of your own issues, your own training, schedule, your own eating, your own sleeping, all of those things. When you take care of those things, then the goal kind of falls into place. Simple as that.
If you want more tips on 5K training, my kind of recipe if you, you know, complete your 5K and you want to kind of progress past couch to 5K, stick with me here, hit subscribe. Soon on the screen, there's gonna be a playlist with all my 5K specific videos. So, check that out, see how I can help you. I'll see you next time, hopefully, on the next episode of Runner's High.