Getting Started - advice from an amature

Recently I have been asked by a couple of people who have been following my C25K progress how to get started, what are the first steps. I don't know much about jogging, I am still very much a beginner, but what I do know is how to get started with the couch to 5k program.

My first piece of advice is to invest in the right gear: good shoes, stop watch and comfortable running clothes including rain gear. The shoes are the most important, to go to a store like the Running Room www.runningroom.com to buy a decent pair of shoes that are best suited to your running style. The Running Room offers advice from employees who have been trained to analyze the gait of your walk and suggest shoes that offer support where you may need it most. For example, when my fiance Dave began running he had problems with sharp pains in his knees. We decided to check out the Running Room for new shoes where the specialist (who was also an avid runner) discovered that when walking Dave's arches collapsed inwards which would be exaggerated when running and therefore the specialist recommended a pair of jogging shoes that would give extra support to his arches. Low and behold, the sharp knee pain subsided dramatically. So, first step (pun intended) get your butt down to the Running Room, bring at least 150$ Canadian and get a decent pair of shoes.

Second piece of advice is setting goals for each of your runs that are realistic, attainable, adaptable and based on a method of tracking either through timing, reaching landmarks or miles under your belt. The couch to 5 km program relies heavily on timing your run as a method for reaching your goals. In the first few weeks you are timing by the seconds and work your way up to minutes, then on to km's. I quickly abandoned the timing routine in favour of using landmarks for goals as I didn't have a stop watch that I liked. I recommend that you either invest in a stop watch with a clear, well lit, easy to read face or run using landmarks. Although I am a HUGE fan of the C25K idea I haven't been following the routine in all honesty.  So this got me thinking how is my progress in comparison to the program...I was delighted to find out that I am pretty much on track for the last workout of the 6 week mark:

Today I ran 3.6 km (2.25miles) in 30 minutes stopping once at the half way mark for a breather. 
C25K Work out says I should be doing this at week 6 (Full program at the folliwng link www.coolrunning.com)

Work out 1
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

Work out 2
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:

• Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)

Work out 3
Brisk five-minute warmup walk,
then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.

So using landmarks worked well for me, I was able to push myself further by thinking, I will not stop until I reach the end of this block, I will not stop until I have circled the block twice etc....

My third point is to keep track of your progress. I have been using the blog as a diary of my progress but I have begun to use the website www.mapmyrun.com as a way of setting up runs, tracking the distance of my runs and, in the weeks to come, to keep track of my timing. My new goal is to start to pick up speed on the road and shave minutes off of my time. Keeping notes will be a way of increasing distance by mapping routes that are more challenging, discovering a good time of day for you to run (I am great right before dinner) and reading or viewing how far you have come from the hard beginning in either a written diary like this one or in charts and graphs using sites like mapmyrun.


My final piece of advice is this, do not to let your expectations dictate what you can or can't do. If I followed my extremely low expectations of myself I would still be in the first week or even have abandoned the program all together. I surprise myself daily on how much further I am able to go physically then what my brain says I can do. In the beginning it worked the opposite, I thought I could make the end of the block and when I couldn't I was disappointed in myself. You will do what you can do, in most cases you will do better then you thought you could.


Jogging is an amazing sport. It requires very little financial investment, you can do it straight from your front door or even in your home if you have the equipment. It is extremely challenging, an awesome workout, very goal oriented. It builds muscle, melts fat, brings your heart rate up, gets you moving in ways you haven't for a long time or, in my case, ever. Good luck road warrior.