[B&K Mom]

So I was checking out the message board on mapmyrun.com on a post about newbies (that's me) where someone mentioned a FREE podcast to pace your runs. Come to find out, there is interval training music designed to go with the Couch Potato to 5K plan I'm working (they call it First Day to 5K). The idea is that the beat of the music (all rhythmic/beat music) is the pace that you run. Now I don't need to watch my stopwatch, just put one foot in front of the other to the beat until the music stops. For those who are working toward other goals, there's also Gateway to 8K and Freeway to 10K. They are apparently working on one to prep for a half marathon too (Jan!!!). The 5K workouts are each right around 30 minutes including warmup and cool down.

This podcast series is a spin off of the original podcast "Podrunner: Exercise Music for running, spinning or any fast-paced workout". There are over 60 different mixes on this podcast and all are paced and tell you how many BPM (beats per minute) they are paced at (I've heard 130-140 is good for beginners). Each of these podcasts are around an hour.

Thought you might like to see what this is and if it will work for you. I'm gonna try it out on Monday! I'll let you know what I think.

Debbie

[ScrappingForever]

Isn't that a great idea! Are these on iTunes? I don't know if I'll like it, since I like running to my own music, but definitely worth checking out!

Thanks Debbie!

[tiza126]

B&K Mom, on Mar 21 2009, 11:48 PM, said:

So I was checking out the message board on mapmyrun.com on a post about newbies (that's me) where someone mentioned a FREE podcast to pace your runs. Come to find out, there is interval training music designed to go with the Couch Potato to 5K plan I'm working (they call it First Day to 5K). The idea is that the beat of the music (all rhythmic/beat music) is the pace that you run. Now I don't need to watch my stopwatch, just put one foot in front of the other to the beat until the music stops. For those who are working toward other goals, there's also Gateway to 8K and Freeway to 10K. They are apparently working on one to prep for a half marathon too (Jan!!!). The 5K workouts are each right around 30 minutes including warmup and cool down.

This podcast series is a spin off of the original podcast "Podrunner: Exercise Music for running, spinning or any fast-paced workout". There are over 60 different mixes on this podcast and all are paced and tell you how many BPM (beats per minute) they are paced at (I've heard 130-140 is good for beginners). Each of these podcasts are around an hour.

Thought you might like to see what this is and if it will work for you. I'm gonna try it out on Monday! I'll let you know what I think.

Debbie

I've heard of that!! My friend was telling me about that plan/podcast a couple days ago...she just started it last week. I might have to give it a try, because I am NOT a runner. Let us know how what it's like!

[B&K Mom]

ScrappingForever, on Mar 22 2009, 07:47 AM, said:

Isn't that a great idea! Are these on iTunes? I don't know if I'll like it, since I like running to my own music, but definitely worth checking out!

Thanks Debbie!

Yep, Jan....iTunes. I'm not sure I'm gonna like it either since I love to sing my songs while I run, and I'm not in to techno mixes much. However, the idea of being paced and getting a sense of where my pace "should" be is pretty cool. Just hearing that will be helpful. I'll give it a go tomorrow. BTW, did you do the every other day workout with Couch Potato to 5K (I'm now calling it CP to 5K! LOL!), or did you do more frequent runs? I've heard several who recommend that running 5 days in a row will build your stamina better. I also know how important rest and varied activity is to muscle growth. Just wondering what others have tried.

Happy running.
Debbie

[tiza126]

I looked up the CPto5k plan...and it sounds similar to what I've been doing on my own. I've never been a good runner. Ever. Usually a 30-second jog would have me down on the ground struggling for breath. Now that I've been getting into better shape, I decided to try jogging again. I started slowly - walked for a few minutes, then tried jogging slowly for about 30 seconds. Once I could make it through 30 seconds without dying, I increased the distance the next time. Walk a few minutes, jog a minute, walk a few more minutes, etc. Last week...I managed to jog for a straight 5 minutes without feeling like I was going to die or pass out!! YAY!!

[B&K Mom]

tiza126, on Mar 22 2009, 03:42 PM, said:

I looked up the CPto5k plan...and it sounds similar to what I've been doing on my own. I've never been a good runner. Ever. Usually a 30-second jog would have me down on the ground struggling for breath. Now that I've been getting into better shape, I decided to try jogging again. I started slowly - walked for a few minutes, then tried jogging slowly for about 30 seconds. Once I could make it through 30 seconds without dying, I increased the distance the next time. Walk a few minutes, jog a minute, walk a few more minutes, etc. Last week...I managed to jog for a straight 5 minutes without feeling like I was going to die or pass out!! YAY!!

Congrats to you Theresa! 5 minutes of uninterrupted jogging is amazing! Good for you! And I'm very impressed that you didn't die or pass out! That's exactly what you do in the CP to 5K plan. It's called interval training...short intervals of intense (or more intense) effort separated by intervals of less intense work. I'm psyched! Tomorrow I start with 90 second run alternating with 2 min of brisk walk. You're WAY ahead of me. BTW, did you decide to find a 5K to try? I bet you could do it! Looks like I'm running on Memorial Day!

Debbie

[tiza126]

I was just looking around that MapMyRun.com website, and there is a lot of good stuff on there. Now I need to go find those podcasts.

So....if I can keep up with this and actually get myself in the right mindset to train, I might decide to run/jog the 5K in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure here in June. That can be my deadline! But really, I'm just doing this for myself. There is something very physically/mentally/emotionally liberating about running, but my body's never been physically able to handle it. That is going to change!!

Good luck with your running Debbie and before you know it, you'll be ready for that Memorial Day run!

[B&K Mom]

Well, I used my Podrunner: Interval podcast today. Here's my review:

First off, it is definitely techno music, but it's well done. This is definitely not a 'sing-a-long' kind of thing. I used the CP to 5K week 2 podcast which is 28 minute 45 seconds long including a 1:40 intro of a guy talking. There's a 5 min warm up (paced at 128 bpm) then 90 sec run intervals (at 138 bpm) alternated with 2 min walk intervals (at 128 bpm). The 90 sec/2 min cylce is repeated at total of 6 times, and then it's done!

PROS:
The beat was very easy to hear and follow (took me back to my marching band days a little bit )
I didn't have to continually look at my stop watch and figure out what time I needed to change my pace.
There is a little chiming tone that lets you know when you're about to change pace.
The techno style really helped me kind of zone in on running and let my mind wander to wherever I wanted to go.
My pace was consistent while running and walking.

CONS:
The pace that was set (128 bpm walking/138 bpm running) is not my usual pace. Both were slower than I usually walk/run. (see my note at the end as to how I accommodated this).
It's techno -- not my favorite.
There's a guy that talks at the beginning (I just fast forwarded past him though:))
It ended before my last loop was done, then my iPod went on to some exceedingly slow song (that's my own iPod editing issue).

I ended up using the walking pace that was set (128 bpm). I thought this would really slow me down, but I found myself taking much longer strides while walking and it was a nice kind of stretch out for me. I did run at my usual pace (which I can't wait to find out what that actually is) because the 138 bpm was just TOO SLOW for me to actually run. I could have easily walked fast to 138 bpm. The music was not distracting to me as this is the pace that I usually run (isn't that funny..."usually" run! That is, all this past week...well, and for the last 2 years off and on).

All in all, I ended up doing the same distance that I had done last week at just about the same pace overall. I found that quite interesting. I did 2.4 miles in 31 minutes. Not lightning fast, but better than nothing. Each week the amount of running will increase, so my pace will improve (I hope) and my distance should get longer and longer. I'm so excited about this process.

I've decided to use this this week and see how it goes. I'm considering adding a "free run" to my program on the weekend, by that I mean a run/walk that is at my own pace, as well as I use my own music and see how it goes. Once I finish this week, I'll look at whether I want to try Week 3 of Podrunner: Intervals.

If you decide to give it a try, let me know what you think!
Debbie

[tiza126]

I think I might give this a try! I printed off the CP to 5K chart, and mapped a few routes on MapMyRun (a flat terrain one, and a hillier terrain one). Last night I also downloaded one of the podcasts and listened to it a little bit to see what it sounded like. I think I'd rather walk/run to my own music. When I have my own music playing, I find that I can survive the walk/run easier because my mind gets distracted singing along instead of focusing on how tired I am.

Weather permitting, I'll do my Week 1 Run 1 tonight!

[B&K Mom]

Just an update for you all. I'm on Week 4 and have come across some inappropriate language. Not 4 letter words, but descriptions and obvious provocative language that I am uncomfortable with. It really disrupted my rung today as I chose to switch to my own music and try and figure out the time I needed to complete.

Overall, I really like this program. I found the inclusion of this piece unnecessary. And the PodRunner folks will hear from me about it too. Just couldn't leave this thread hanging without this caveat.

Debbie...who is sad that this great program is tainted in my eyes.

[debubbie]

For those of you that have Zune Pass you can download podcasts for walking and runnig that you may like as well. You may have to double check that the language is appropriate for you.