Ready for a 5k in 6 months? (treadmill, build, fast, program)

[SuzyQ123]

Do you think I could be ready for a 5K by mid October?

I have just started walking last week. I am 36 and I have recently lost 50 pounds. I went from 260 to 210. Now I feel like I am ready to start moving. I am doing a 18-20 minute mile every day on my treadmill. I am not worried about finishing with a great time. I just want to finish and not be last . I found a 12 week walking program called Zero to sixty in 12 weeks. That should slowly get me walking 60 minutes a day. Then I thought I could spend another 12 weeks building up some speed. I would be thrilled to be at 45 minutes for the 5K. Do you think this is a realistic goal?

[LaoTzuMindFu]

First of all, congrats on the weight loss. Secondly, congrats on getting on that treadmill each day.

5k would be no problem for you at all. Remember, you dont have to run/jog the entire way, you just want to DO IT!! I hear a lot of good things about that couch to 5k program. You should look into it. October is definitely a ways away so with daily practice you should definitely be able to do it.

My advice though, 1) Really clean up your nutrition intake. Im not just talking about watching calories, I mean eat good healthy foods to fuel your body. This means no sugar, no soft drinks, no fast foods, no white breads, no white rice. Eat lots of spinich, broccoli, chicken breasts, brown rice, whole wheat pastas, whole wheat bread, minimal fruits (banana is great after your runs). You must eat right. 2) Start worrying about your time. If you do a mile in 18 minutes, next time out, try to do it in 17 minutes 30 seconds, then 17 minutes, then 16 minutes. This mini-goal will snowball into bigger goals and before you know it, by September you are RUNNING 5ks easily. But more importantly, you'll feel better.

This is NOT trying to do too much too fast like some who dont know what they are talking about may say. This is YOU achieving your goals and getting fitter and fitter by the day.

Congrats again.

[wutitiz]

Yes I think 6 months is a good plan. Of course the downside is that it's a long time to try to stay focused, but better to allow too much than too little time IMO.

I'm not sure you even need a program. Just go out and run 10 minutes one day. Do that for a while then go to 15 minutes, and so on. It does not matter how fast. Run-walk-run if that works better for you.

Above all don't worry about what people think. I was talking to a friend of mine last week who is prob 60 lbs or so overweight and she knows I'm a competitive runner. She told me she wants to start running to lose weight but is going to start on the treadmill because she is not comfortable running outside w/ people watching, at her current weight. I didn't think of it at the time, but the funny thing is I realized later that I always get a nice feeling when I see an overweight person running in the park where I run. My reaction is 'welcome to the runner tribe.'

I advise running on grass/dirt or treadmill. Avoid running on pavement as much as possible to protect your joints. Build up your distance gradually, and don't worry about speed. I believe long/slow running taps more into fat burning as an energy source anyway.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[xiansheng_g]

Originally Posted by SuzyQ123

Do you think I could be ready for a 5K by mid October?

I have just started walking last week. I am 36 and I have recently lost 50 pounds. I went from 260 to 210. Now I feel like I am ready to start moving. I am doing a 18-20 minute mile every day on my treadmill. I am not worried about finishing with a great time. I just want to finish and not be last . I found a 12 week walking program called Zero to sixty in 12 weeks. That should slowly get me walking 60 minutes a day. Then I thought I could spend another 12 weeks building up some speed. I would be thrilled to be at 45 minutes for the 5K. Do you think this is a realistic goal?

You're relatively young, and you've done a tremendous job losing weight: 5K is a piece of cake! Keep training and stay focused! Good luck with your training.

[Luckyd609]

You can do this no problem. Baby steps at first and just keep pushing yourself as you go.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by SuzyQ123

Do you think I could be ready for a 5K by mid October?

I have just started walking last week. I am 36 and I have recently lost 50 pounds. I went from 260 to 210. Now I feel like I am ready to start moving. I am doing a 18-20 minute mile every day on my treadmill. I am not worried about finishing with a great time. I just want to finish and not be last . I found a 12 week walking program called Zero to sixty in 12 weeks. That should slowly get me walking 60 minutes a day. Then I thought I could spend another 12 weeks building up some speed. I would be thrilled to be at 45 minutes for the 5K. Do you think this is a realistic goal?

You can definitely do it! I remember training for my first 5k, and I didn't allow myself as much time as you are.

I used the couch to 5k program and I thought it worked really well. You can see the plan here: Cool Running | The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan

When you're first starting, it makes more sense to do the program by distance instead of time. Right out of the gate, running at 6 miles an hour is a stretch, at least it was for me. I could handle a 5 mph pace (12 minute mile) much better.

[jade408]

Definitely. Even if you mix in walking. In fact, you could probably hit that pace walking 100%.

Try couch to 5k once you feel pretty good about walking 30-40 minutes if you want to run it.

[springfieldva]

Congratulations on your weight loss, SuzyQ! You can definitely be ready for a 5K in 6 months. If you want to jog it, you really should plan on losing some more weight. I, personally, do not jog unless I'm within a healthy/normal (not overweight) weight range because the risk of injury to my joints just isn't worth it to me.

That said, I can walk a 5K in 45 minutes with no problem. So whether you run, walk or jog (or a combination) - I think you can do it. Good luck!

[Kalbo]

You can do it,and you will find it will be easier than you think. Great job with the weight loss.

[SuzyQ123]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!!! I just finished week 1 today from this walking sched. http://www.thewalkingsite.com/12week.html I am really surprised how much I like walking.