Hi there, Coach Alexa here. So I thought I’d do a little series on the Couch to 5K programme because it’s a subject and a question around some of the little nuances and potential small downsides of the Couch to 5K programme.
The one that I’m most familiar with here in the UK is the one that’s done jointly between the NHS and BBC.
It’s come up often enough, and it’s come up again recently, that there are a few little challenges that can be presented by the way the programme’s put together.
So the first one I’m going to cover in this video is the fact that there’s quite a jump about four weeks into the programme, when the amount of kind of duration of running you’re doing in a week leaps up a little bit.
So it’s progressing a little bit more gently, and then it goes and then progresses a bit more gently again. Not quite sure why they do that, what they had in mind with that.
But I will say it often catches a few people out, and it often is a point where people start to struggle with the programme, feel that it’s suddenly got a bit much for them, and the dropout rate is a bit higher around that point in the experience I have with the people that I’ve talked to about it.
Adding More Variety to Couch to 5K
So I have written myself a few of my own versions of the Couch to 5K programme, one of which you can find as an audio version in the We Run Virtual Running Club app, where I’ve tried to smooth out that jump a little bit based on that feedback.
And the other thing I quite like to do, because I think they repeat all of the runs within the same week now in the Couch to 5K, so every week you’re doing the same run three times, is add a little bit more variety.
Firstly, because I think that’s interesting for the brain, a bit more engaging, it’s a bit more interesting for the body, and also it allows you to play with loading with a little bit more nuance.
So having each of the three runs exactly the same each week, every time it steps up, particularly at that big jump moment around week four, you’re just looking at the same loading across the week.
Whereas what you can do is maybe have run one a bit more of a challenge, run two slightly less of a challenge, run three a little bit more of a challenge again.
So I think that’s a nicer way to balance out the challenge versus recovery, not just looking at the week at a time, but within each week, which often works out a little bit better for people.
It’s Not Just You If Couch to 5K Feels Hard
So I just wanted to say it out loud, really, because a lot of people kind of end up thinking it’s them, thinking that when they get down to around roughly that midpoint in the programme and they struggle with it and they find that the runs are really challenging and they’re not enjoying it and they’re finding it really hard and a bit demotivating.
It’s definitely not just you.
I’ve heard it from more than enough people to know that it’s a bit of a thing, and there are definitely versions that are out there, as I say, through the Virtual Running Club app.
And also, coaches that you can work with one to one.
Tailoring Your Running Programme
When I’m working one to one with runners at that stage when they’re either starting out fresh, brand new, shiny runner, or they’re returning to running after a longer break or after injury, illness, health condition, whatever, I will work a week at a time and plan the next week literally based on how they felt and how things went the previous week because everyone’s so individual.
And whilst the Couch to 5K programme is brilliant and it’s got loads of people into running, which is fantastic, one size never fits all.
We’re all different, and often we need that little bit of tailoring and extra nuance for ourselves.
Happy running.
