Couch-to-5k

I'm not big on making New Years resolutions, mainly because I have a really hard time sticking to them.  I always go balls to the wall for the first 2 weeks then just fizzle out.  Although I don't believe in making New Years resolutions per se, I did decide to try to get healthier this month.  The beginning of 2013 just happened to be a convenient time for it.  Wedding planning is over, T and I are both settled into jobs that we love, our crazy travel has finally calmed down a bit, you get the picture.

This week I finally bit the bullet and joined a gym.  We have free workout facilities at work and in our apartment, but its obviously not working for me.  We've been in our apartment for two years now and I've made it to the gym lest than 10 times.  FAIL. I'm thinking if I actually pay for my membership, I'll go.  If I don't go, I'll be wasting money- a cardinal sin in my book. 

I've never been a big runner.  Even during my two-a-days phase during college when I was in great physical shape, I still couldn't run for more than 5 minutes at a time.  I've always wanted to be a runner, it just hasn't worked out for me.  Last week I decided to try out the Couch-to-5K program, and I've really enjoyed it.  It's a 9-week program that helps you pace your self and slowly build up the endurance to run a 5k.  There are three 30 minute workouts to do each week- pretty doable. 

I decided to download their app, and splurged for the $2.99 version rather than the free one.  Well worth it.  It makes it so much easier to keep up with your intervals, and you can run Pandora or listen to your iTunes simultaneously.  Here are a couple of screenshots from the app.

 

You get to choose your trainer.  I've kept the default one, but I'm very intrigued about the zombie trainer.  Maybe I'll change it to switch things up a bit. 

There is a description of the workout for each day.  So far I have completed all of week one and the first day of week 2.

 

The log tracks your distances and times as well.  It's a great motivation to always out-do your last workout.  I've been doing this on the treadmill, but once the weather gets warmer I hope to move outside.  Another feature that I really like is that it will work with your phone's GPS and calculate your distance.  Pretty cool, huh?

I've decided to go ahead and sign up for a 5k this spring to hold my self to it.  Wish me luck!