Start at the Right Intensity

Some ‘beginner runners’ have never run farther than around the bases of a baseball diamond, and that was twenty years ago. It’s a challenge to run 15 steps, now.

Others used to run, but they’ve put on 20 pounds and haven’t been active for a while. For them, a minute is grueling

On the other hand, some beginners have been working on becoming a runner for a while, and they can already run a mile, non-stop.

The above describes three very different people; yet, all are beginner runners.

Most Couch to 5k programs are created for one level of beginner; one beginner fitness status is appropriate for Week 1 of the program, and that’s likely the third example, above, but everyone beginner runner is different.

It’s crazy to expect Week 1 of a program to fit everyone wishing to start running.

Yet, with most programs, everyone will start at the beginning, at Week 1. Realistically, that will be a good fit for maybe a fourth of the people with their hearts set on becoming runners.

Many will need a conditioning program to prepare for that, but equally common is that people are either already somewhat fit or have already been running some, and they could comfortably start at, say Week 5.

Either way, starting at that ‘right place for you’ along the continuum is critical.

The difference between beginner runners is dependent on

• age

• weight

• prior experience

• current level of fitness

• prior injuries

• goals

So, when taking the above into account, the difference between one beginner runner and another is the difference between a kindergartener and a middle school student.

My programs take all this into account, as I advise people to take my diagnostic test and then find the set of schedules and the week, within that set, that most closely fits their fitness level as diagnosed in the diagnostic test.

In the next post, I’ll explain how to approach any training program, appropriately, for the extremely divergent levels of beginner runners.