Running as a Beginner: Get Ready for Couch to 5k

July 31, 2023 Jo Roberts

Have you completed Couch to 5k?

If yes, I salute you. It is an amazing achievement. But, if you started it and have restarted more than once, then there may be a good reason why.

The Couch to 5K plan is absolutely brilliant. It has supported thousands of people who want to start running to lace up their trainers. It has an excellent, easy to follow app. No arguments from me. But many people restart it. Or they finish it, but then stop running, and come back again and start at the beginning.

That’s not, in itself, a bad thing. It is, after all, repeating positive patterns and establishing new healthy habits. And these things are not done easily, or first time, or easy to stick to. With me so far?

The thing is, people, healthy habits (or in fact, any good or bad habit) take time to become second nature. It takes, on average 66 days to establish a new habit (check out the SO App for more info if you’d like to). And we can get stuck in what’s called the change cycle, where we just can’t get over the hump.

43% of people give up fitness goals after 1 month

Running consistently is a challenge for people around the globe. About 43% of people give up on their fitness goals after 1 month following New Year resolutions. Evidence shows you must have a big enough reason to make your habit consistent. Put it another way, is the goal of completing a race, the real reason you are doing it, or is it bigger than that? If we have big enough reasons, we can make it stick. But people find it tricky for some of the following reasons…

Too tired to keep it up

A UK gym survey found that 71% of women stated regular fatigue as a factor (young children, work, peri-menopause, menopause… need I go on?), and both men and women said they were too tired or worn out (65%) to look after their health.

Don’t have time to keep it up

Lack of time was also a major player. 36% said between work, family, and social commitments, they just didn’t have time to focus on fitness goals or physical habits.

Here’s a list of other reasons why people stop:

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Lack of confidence. 
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Lack of consistency. 
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Lack of energy. 
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Lack of self-esteem. 
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Fear of failure. 
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Comparing ourselves to others. 
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If you can relate to any of these then you are not alone. But this isn’t a reason to give up. There are things you can do to combat these fears and lacks (what I refer to, on the SO App learning program, funnily enough, as “The Fear and Lack Pack”).

Running goals are NOT a one size fits all

Plus, running goals are, by their very nature, focused on quantity; reaching that marathon target, 10k time, PBs. Don’t get me wrong, these are amazing goals. The Couch to 5k goal of running for 30 minutes is a great one, too.

But I don’t believe they work for everyone. Goals focused on quality of experience, beyond that race goal, (I am a former charity strategist whose job for over 15 year was to develop outcomes based on quality over quantity - so I can’t help myself!) can be sustained over the longer-term.

If you read about top athletes and mental health such as Olympians Michael Phelps, Adam Peaty, to name just two, you will find that the come down after completing a race event can be bigger than the dopamine hits of the win. In other words, there are big lows, after the big highs. In fact, I watched a truly inspirational and frank Ted Talk on such things recently by former Olympic athlete, Nile Wilson. I recommend it.

We might not all be training for the Olympics, but if you have met your goal of completing a race, and then wondered, what now? then it might be worth reframing your gaols, and that all begins in the mind.

Cart before the horse?… Run your mind, before your feet

Before we lace up our shoes, I think it is fair and reasonable to take a look inside, and ask if our minds are working in support of our feet. It isn’t always possible to adopt a “Don’t think, just do” mantra (sorry Maverick, aka Tom Cruise).

To me, it’s about running your mind, before you run your feet.

I became a consistent runner. Not by training for a marathon. Well, at least not with my legs. But by retraining my mind. As psychology infers, your mind will believe anything. But to give it something to believe in, you need to prepare it.

I see so many people when starting out running, asking on Facebook Groups, and the like,

What do I need to begin running?

Is it the best running shoes? No  (although I am a running shoe addict, that I must confess).

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Is it the best training plan? No. 
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Is it the best weather conditions? No. 
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It is, ladies, your mind. Your running training starts inside your head. In the words of Elsa’s mother in Frozen 2,

“You are the one you’ve been waiting for all of your life, Show yourself, step into your power!”.

That’s why it is a very good idea to get your mental preparedness/ training working before or alongside a Coach to 5k plan. Then, by the end of the C25K program your mind (not just your feet) will have engrained the habit.

Let’s go!

Are you ready to take on the Couch to 5k challenge with a new mindset? Don't let the hurdles in your head hold you back. Prepare your mind, lace up your shoes, and let's embark on this journey together. Your running success begins with the right mental attitude. Let's make it happen!