I’ve been wondering if the infamous Couch to 5K plan might provide a good structure to help me ease back into running. As I’ve written before, I have a tendency to go too-far too-fast whenever I try to get back into running, and the hardest part is slowing down.

The Couch to 5k (C25K) features a slow progression of walking and running that increases over 9 weeks to a continuous 5k run. You can buy an app that guides you through the process, or simply copy the free plan from their website and manage your time on your own.

After hobbling myself with two recent too-far, too-fast runs, I decided it was time to try a structured beginners program.

However, when I searched for “couch to 5k plan,” I was surprised to find the article “3 Flaws in The Couch to 5K Running Plan” had usurped the top search results in what Google now calls a “featured snippet.”

Following the path of least resistance, and curious to learn about the C25K plan’s deficiencies, I followed the link to Mark Kennedy’s article (and snazzy infographic) on Healthynomics.com.

I may be an easy sell, but with Mark’s background as a USA Track & Field certified coach, a former Kinesiologist, and lifelong Canadian (nice! trustworthy!) I decided to check out his recommended alternative to the Couch to 5k, his own “None to Run.”

The None to Run plan follows a similar walk-run structure, with three main differences:

It focuses on time rather than distance It includes an easy strength and mobility training component each week It includes several repeated weeks where the run-to-walk times and ratios do not increase

(For much better explanations of these, of course, go read the article.)

With the repeated weeks, the plan grows to twelve weeks instead of C25K’s nine weeks, and culminates with a 25 minute continuous run (essentially enough time for a 5k run at a moderate pace).

This all sounded good to me.

In the spirit of really slowing down and easing back into running to avoid injury, I figured the slower the better. Right? 12 weeks must be better than 9.

Then I tried the first workout.

Within the first ten minutes of attempting None to Run I epically failed.

Here’s what went wrong:

See the first week’s training plan below. Easy enough? Basically warmup with 5 minutes of walking then alternate between 30 seconds easy running and two minutes of walking.

None to Run, Week 1:

WEEK WORKOUT 1 WORKOUT 2 WORKOUT 3 STRENGTH WORKOUT 1 Walk briskly for 5-minutes. Then alternate between 30- seconds of slow running and 2-minutes of walking for a total of 20-minutes. Walk briskly for 5-minutes. Then alternate between 30-seconds of slow running and 2-minutes of walking for a total of 20-minutes. Walk briskly for 5-minutes. Then alternate between 30-seconds of slow running and 2-minutes of walking for a total of 20-minutes. Simple Strength Routine for Runners. Perform 2 sets.

(See the full plan here)

I succeeded at walking for 5 minutes to get warmed up. Nice!

I succeeded at completing exactly one rotation of 30 seconds jogging and 2-minutes walking. So far so good!

But that’s where it all went haywire.

It’s really hard to run for only 30 seconds.

It felt silly to slow to a walk almost as soon as I got started.

I KNEW the reasoning behind the 30 second limit, but after trying one round, I immediately decided that running for 2-minutes and THEN walking for 30-seconds would make more sense.

After all, I have some background running, I’ve been swimming regularly for four years, I’m a healthy weight, I’m a frequent walker, and my excuses went on.

Of course, that quick leap of logic thrust me from week one to week seven in a matter of 90 seconds 😦

Obviously, not the best fidelity to Mark’s expertly designed plan.

An hour later I returned home, 35 minutes longer than I was supposed to be out, having run-walked 3.4 miles (albeit I totally abandoned running about 1/2 way in, my one good decision).

I stretched in the front yard, chiseled some Gatorade powder out of a long-solidified container, ate diner, and felt pretty good.

Then I sat down to type this and the pain set in. My left knee and hip are twanging with tension and my back is singing in response.

Of course, I’ve over-done it once again!

Though, admittedly, this run was better than my normal 3 to 5 mile first-run-of-the-decade efforts.

So, I’ll try to control myself a little more on the next run and stick to the 30 second program! I have to remember: it’s hard to slow down, but the whole purpose is to take the time to build up to long, regular runs in the future where 30, 60, or 90 minutes will be no problem.

Patience now = long zen-filled runs later.

In the meantime, I’m working on some mobility, stretching, and strength work that Mark sent along in his free 7-lesson email course for beginning runners.

I’ve signed up for a good deal of email courses in the last year, of all varieties, and OF COURSE I understand that they are a form of content marketing. I KNOW that I am being sold something, at some point, eventually. But the beautiful thing about content marketing is that it succeeds based on free access to quality information. There’s usually a lot to be learned before the hard ask arrives, and when there’s not… I simply unsubscribe.

I’m only 2 lessons in, but have been really impressed with the quality of Mark’s course. He’s linked to some good YouTube running-focused strength routines, and led me to other good websites and coaches.

His emails are also concise and well timed… so they’re a pleasure rather than a bother, unlike many email courses and newsletters.

So, is None to Run better than Couch to 5k?

Well, I really don’t know… but based on the magic of Google’s search and snippet algorithms, I’m sticking with the underdog for now 🙂

By the way, I am in no way affiliated with Mark, Healthynomics, or None to Run. I am just a participant-observer in this great dance of midlife Tom-Foolery and appreciate the structure that these plans might impose on my otherwise tragicomic attempts to slow-down.

I am also fascinated by the way Google’s search results have propelled the Run to None plan ABOVE Couch to 5K in the search results. Was it the pithy infographic perfectly suited for the featured snippet’s thumbnail image? Whatever it was, I’m guessing that Mark is experiencing a crazy uptick in traffic and sign-ups to his email course. Another well-earned algorithmic victory for the underdog… that’s something I’ll always get behind!

Now, as an aside, I’d like to point out that 12-weeks from now is just about Thanksgiving. If you jump on either plan, None to Run, Couch to 5k, or just start jogging occasionally as the spirit moves you… you can join me in spirit (or in person in Denver!) with a Turkey Trot 5k run.

There’s certainly some appeal to entering the holiday eating season with a fitness victory under the belt, before loosening the belt, AND there’s no better time of year to enjoy the outdoors, at least in Colorado, than autumn. Kismet, the stars are aligned, let’s go running!

Did you read this far? Say hello in the comments!

I’d love to hear about your own experiences either with Couch to 5k, or other efforts to begin or return to running.