What to do after finishing Couch to 5K may be on your mind if you have recently completed the program or are nearing the conclusion of the nine-week time frame. You’ve been following a pretty straightforward strategy for weeks and weeks when suddenly, you’re on your own.
Listening to the Couch to 5K podcast is similar to having a personal trainer at your side for nine weeks. You are instructed on when to run and when to walk, as well as on which days to relax and when to put on your running shoes. It may be pretty simple to stand still and do nothing when all of that abruptly ends. You’ve followed the plan to the letter, felt the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing “Week 9 – Run 3,” and are now in a predicament.
However, you don’t want all of that effort to be in vain, do you?
Obviously not. To turn your new running habit into a lifelong one, you’ll need a little bit of a strategy, some inspiration, and some rewards.
Enjoy It
Go outside and enjoy your runs as much as you can first. It’s a tremendous accomplishment to finish the plan, and you should celebrate that you can now run for 30 minutes, which you couldn’t do only a few weeks ago. Since you now have confidence in your ability to succeed, ease up on yourself and devote a few weeks to developing a routine, taking pride in your accomplishments, and exploring new routes.
Participate In A Virtual Event
Would you like something to display for your hard work, such as a shiny medal?
Registering for a virtual event is a fantastic method to maintain your motivation.
You may register for a massive variety of activities, and the procedure is straightforward.
You must first decide the category of competition you want to compete in, the distance you want to run, the day you want to run it, and the type of medal you want to get. Once you’ve finished your run, submit your Strava statistics to the event organiser’s website so they can give you your award.
You may either do this for yourself as a bit of fun, or you can do it as part of a fundraising drive and ask people to support you. Anyhow, it’s a fantastic method to give yourself something to concentrate on and keep you motivated.
Treat Yourself To New Running Gear
A few inexpensive objects, though, may have a significant impact. For instance, cotton t-shirts are a major no-no. The reverse of what you desire, they slowly dry while absorbing moisture. So that sweat may be carried away from the body and evaporate, your t-shirts should be constructed of moisture-wicking material.
Similar to this, shorts made of quick-drying material are definitely worth the money because they can be quickly washed and put on for your next run.
Work Up to 10K
It makes sense that after a few weeks of regularly running 5ks, you would want to test your limitations again and discover what you can do. The logical next step is to work towards a 10k, which you should easily be able to accomplish if you put in the effort and stick to an incremental training schedule similar to Couch to 5K.
For instance, you may extend your runs by 5 minutes the next week to reach 35 minutes, then do the same the week after to arrive at 40 minutes. You would eventually build up to 60 minutes, which would have travelled around 10K.
