Completing the race, was truly a moment that i will remember for the rest of my life. Below is the map of my run:

I finished with an official chip time of 2:37:39

For sure, I will be going back to run next year. It truly was an amazing site running across Ambassador Bridge when the sun was rising.

I was pretty disappointed in myself for not finding the time or having the same focus as I committed to running in April, so I set a goal for myself to run 100KM in the month of June.

Running 100K in a month would mean that naturally, I would have to increase my distance for every run.  Previous to the month of June, the longest distance that I ran was 5.75KM.

The first Run, I aimed for a goal of 6K, then pushed it to 8K.  On June 30th, I was able to complete a 12K run!!

It’s interesting because I look back on how I felt when I started the Couch to 5K program, struggling to complete 60 seconds of running.  5K seemed like such a long distance, 10K seemed impossible.  The day that I completed the 12K run to reach the mark of 102Km in June, I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment.

Moving forward, I have signed up for the 2010 Detroit Half Marathon (21K) in October.  It is a lofty goal, but I have 3 months to train for it.

I’ve done it!  10 weeks ago, I started my Couch 2 5K running plan again after taking 4 months off.  In 2010 I made a real commitment to the plan and really stuck to it.  I am very pleased with the results.  In the month of April alone, I really upped my game and ran 68Kms.

Looking back starting at week 1, I remember running for 60 seconds thinking that there was no way I could do this.  On Sunday, I ran my first 5K race in under 30 minutes.

Here are my C25K stats:

Weight Lost: 12lbs
Time Run: 14H14M

This past Sunday, I ran in the Forest City Road Race for my first race ever.  My goal was to run 5K in 30 minutes.  In the end I ended up with a time of 28:36 and came in 123rd of 500 runners.  Never in my life would I think that I would be running 5K or participate in a run for any cause.

I’d like to thank all of those who sponsored me for the race, your donations were very much appreciated by the Thames Valley Children’s Centre.

Photo by Jason Fredin

So, whats next?  Tomorrow,  I will be starting a “Freeway to 10K” program.  I plan on running a 10K race by the end of summer, and my big plan is to run in the New York City Marathon in November 2011.  That gives me 16 months to train for a 40K marathon.  It is a huge goal I know, but 8 weeks ago, running 30 minutes straight seemed impossible to me.

When I started my Couch to 5K program (post here) I “hacked” my Nike+ sensor to fit my Adidas shoes.

By the second week, I purchased a proper pair of Nike+ shoes so the sensor was used how it should be and more accurate.

During my Couch 25K training, I have been using both Nike+ and RunKeeper Pro.  Both essentially do the same thing, but offer different types of analytics.  There are features that I like in both, and so when I run, I have both apps running.  It has served me well because there has been instances where one of the apps has failed and the other one kept going for me.

During my run in February during -7 degree weather my Nike+ sensor stopped working.  Not a huge deal becuase I have been using RunKeeper Pro on my iPhone to track distance, pace etc.  I wasn’t pleased but was taken care of.

2 weeks after that, during my run in nicer weather, my Nike+ sensor stopped tracking during the run.  I figured that the battery was dead as it was very intermittent.  After looking at pricing a replacement out at the cost of $34 Canadian, I posted this tweet:

I drew a line in the sand, and chose my loyalty to RunKeeper.  I wasn’t going to pay for a product that guaranteed 1000 active hours and only gave me 14.    The person running the Nike+ twitter account obviously saw my tweet and posted this:

I gave them the details, and received this Direct Message:

Today, the replacement sensor arrived in the mail in an envelope with “Happy Running” written on it.

My hats off the Nike+ for using Twitter to deliver customer satisfaction.  I was ready to drop using the product and go 100% over to RunKeeper. Not because of the money, but the fact that I would be replacing sensors every 3 months.

Word of mouth is such an important way to market your product, if you have a great experience you may tell a few friends, if you have a bad experience, you will go out of your way to tell everybody you know.  If  a manufacturer goes above and beyond, it should be shared with anybody willing to listen.

Thanks Nike+, I’ll be using my new sensor on my run tomorrow and at my first 5K in May.

I’ve decided to start the C25K program again (for the third time) and this time run it to completion. To ensure that, I have set myself a goal and signed up for the Forest City Road Road Race (5K) on May 2nd.

This time around, I have a couple of new things in my arsenal.

Due to the winter weather, and that I will be running in the snow, I received a pair of traction aids for my shoes over the holidays from my wife.

I also purchased the internet scale from Withings.  A geeky purchase, but will allow me to track my progress.  It works with RunKeeper and Weightbot for my iPhone.  Withings also allows some great API access that I plan on using in the near future.

Week 1 Breakdown:

Starting weight: 195.0 lbs
Ending weight: 192.4 lbs
KMs run: 11.3KM

C25K – W1D1

C25K – W1D2

C25K – W1D3

Taking 4 weeks off has truly brought me back to Week 1. I found myself getting winded in the 60 second running portions. A far way off running 5 mins straight that I was doing last October.

At the start of my decision to start getting healthier I purchased a new scale, and the first measurement i took on it said 204.

Some things that I have noticed; I am able to fit into some of my older clothes, and I am down 3 notches on my belt.

Today is a good day.

This week, in preparation for week 4, I did a quick extra run concentrating on 3 minute bursts.

I’m ready for week 4 now.  Week 4 seems like a make or break week, with far more running than walking.

Here is the breakdown of Week 3:
Starting weight: 186.0 lbs
Ending weight: 183.6 lbs
KMs run: 14.21KM
Fastest KM: 6:30

Couch to 5K – Week 3, Day 1:
A great start for W3.  Felt good with no major problems



Couch to 5K – Week 3, Day 2:
A change of scenery, took a run at by my parent’s place.  I found this run to be one of my favourites not only for the new location, but I could concentrate on the running, and not worry if I was going to be hit by a car.



Couch to 5K – Week 3, Day 3:
A quick run to finish out the week.  I squeezed a quick run in before Thanksgiving dinner on Monday.  On this run I dropped my phone 3 times.



Extra Run

I really have to tip my hat to the people at RunKeeper. I track my running with both Nike+ and RunKeeper and am constantly finding that Nike+ is constantly about 300m short on all of my runs.  I really only use Nike+ now for the goals function of the website.

This is my current playlist for running, been there since W1.  I’m due for a change up now.

Starting with my completion of W2 of the program, I had a hard time getting around due to my knee acting up after completing W2.  We were in the middle of moving houses and then on the 30th of August, my wife, Tracey was hit by a car.

I attempted to do W3 of the program, with little luck as my knee was in major pain and I couldn’t run the 3 minute portion without letting up.  I tried redoing the running starting with W1′s regiment, but still no luck.  My last run during this period had me in so much pain that I couldn’t stop shaking and my teeth were chattering (an odd side effect).  I decided that I needed to give my body a rest, so I stopped and took 2 weeks off.

In that 2 week period, i received this email:

“I just came across your webpage after running a Google search on ‘”couch to 5k”.  Being an iPhone user for the last 3 months (got a 3GS), I have been amazed at the number of apps available.  Also, I just recently spent some vacation time in Spain with a childhood friend who made several indirect references to me carrying a few pounds (or even kilos!) too many.  As a result, I found a few exercise apps, including Get Running and RunKeeper Pro, which I have been using to try to lose some weight (was at 175 lbs when I got back from my trip, now down to 165lbs, were I was at for a long time before this summer).

I see you have been trying the c25k plan (your page states you were finishing your second week).  I actually completed the 2nd day of my 2nd week but had to take a break for a couple days because of leg pains (which even prevented me from sleeping at night). I think I am going to do my 3rd run for the 2nd week today.  Have you started the 3rd week?  It is a tough plan, and I guess I am looking for some inspiration to move forward.

Sorry to take up your precious time (I see you have many other passions) but I wanted to let you know that you may have inspired at least one person by posting on your site”

I thought this was a joke at first.  How could I inspire somebody to get fit. Kind of absurd if you ask me.  Turns out the person is real and recently moved from Belgium to the states.  He has been sending me his C25K updates via Facebook, and I the same.  Turns out we are now both at the same week on the program.

After reading his posts, last week I decided that instead of of jumping into W3 unprepared, I would do Week 2 over again.

Here is the breakdown of Week 2 (Mark II):
Starting weight: 188.6 lbs
Ending weight: 186.0 lbs
KMs run: 12.39KM
Fastest KM: 6:36

Couch to 5K – Week 2, Day 1 (Mark II):
Run felt pretty good, I was pleased with my results here, finally breaking the 4KM mark.

Couch to 5K – Week 2, Day 2 (Mark II):
My fastest and furthest run yet.  Near the end of the run, I was attacked by a small dog that got away from a little girl.

Couch to 5K – Week 2, Day 3 (Mark II):
Had a 3 day rest after the second run and it made this one a tougher run, plus add to the fact that the day before I was shooting an event for 6 hours and was pretty sore from holding a camera rig all day.

All runs were tracked using RunKeeper Pro.  I have totally abandoned the C25K iPhone app as Runkeeper will allow me to program my intervals in, and give me audio cues while I run.  Now, If only the people at RunKeeper would add the C25K program into the application, they dominate the app store when it comes to C25k apps.

I now feel that I am ready for W3.  I know it will be challenging having run it before, but I’m ready.

I have been extremely pleased with the RunKeeper Pro app for the iPhone (iTunes Link) and also with the Runkeeper community as my blog post of week 1 was added to their facebook page, and I received some great words of encouragement from others further along in the program.  My suggestion to the people at RunKeeper would be to build the Couch25K program into the app given it’s current popularity. I do have Nike+, but I only rely on it for history and setting my goals on the Nike+ website.

Programming Week 2 into Runkeeper Pro

Here is the breakdown of my week:
Starting weight: 198lbs
Ending weight: 191.6lbs
KMs run: 10.6KM
Fastest KM: 9:03 (on my last run with a very sore knee)

Couch to 5K – Week 2, Day 1:
First day of week 2, felt great, the extra 30 seconds added to the running portion took it’s toll on the last segment, but felt pretty good.

Couch to 5K – Week 2, Day 2:
Achieved my fastest time.  The pain in my knee started about the half way point.  Had to stop 30 seconds into the last running segment.

Couch to 5K – Week 2, Day 3:
Ran in some major discomfort, but still managed to make my best time so far.  Almost got hit by a guy on a bike coming up behind me.

After the week being complete, I am very pleased with my results, the program is working for me as it is slowly getting me up to the 5K mark.

Tracking my daily weight with WeightBot

As far as the weight loss goes, I’m pretty satisfied with the results as well.  I have really made a very conscious effort to be aware of the calorie content of the foods that I am eating, and not giving into temptation and eating the wrong things.  I’ve been weighing myself daily and entering the results into WeightBot (iTunes link) on my iPhone.  WeightBot is great for me because of my results oriented nature, I get to map the progress towards the end goal.

Tracking daily calorie intake with LiveStrong

I’ve also been using the LiveStrong Calorie Tracker (iTunes).  It just reminds me to watch what I eat, and it helps me make decisions on the best choices when I am away from home.  My Livestrong Profile is here.

This last App is a total geeky way to track a simple thing, but I have also been using “8 Glasses’ to keep make sure that I am drinking enough water.

Next week is quite a significant boost the the C25K program, I look forward to the challenge.

I blogged after my first day (read post) and a couple of things have changed since the post. I am not using the Couch25K iPhone app anymore, as I have discovered RunKeeper.  Runkeeper is like Nike+ but more enhanced with the geeky tech goodness that I like.  I have programmed the C25K program into Runkeeper, so now I don’t have much use for the C25k app anymore, only to track my progress.

I’ve also been using the LiveStrong Calorie Tracker (iTunes Link) to track my daily eating habits, and weightbot to log my weekly weigh ins.

Here is the breakdown of my week:
Starting weight: ?? (Forgot to weigh in)
Ending weight: 198lbs

Couch 2 5k Week 1 Day 1:
No tracking data available as I wasn’t using Runkeeper pro yet.  During my first run, I thought I was going to die.  I was really struggling to get through the running portion after 10 minutes.  Around the 25 min mark, I literally wanted to die.  For the next 2 days, I hobbled around the house like an 80 yr old man because my legs were so sore.

Couch 2 5k Week 1 Day 2:
Had to put this off for 1 day to recoup from my first run.  I didn’t have total downtime as I did a 3K walk with Tracey a day before this run.  No major problems, was getting winded around the 20 min mark.

Couch 2 5k Week 1 Day 3:

I really feel that I accomplished something by starting, I know that it is the first week, but I’ve been lazy for so long, it feels good to start something.

It may seem overkill that I’m blogging/tweeting my progress on this, but I figure that if I put it out there, then I’m responsible for following up.