5K races are very popular in the running world. The 5K is a distance that newbie runners usually start with, and seasoned runners challenge themselves to get a new PR (personal record) in.
I remember that back in early 2000, my husband ran a 5K race along with other people in his company. I thought that seemed like a REALLY long distance, and that I could never do that. My husband in his college years would run up to eight miles at a time, so he was an experienced runner. We would work out fairly regularly, and I did do a little bit of running, but I was slow and had to walk a lot.
Fast forward a few years, I had a little more time to work out and started running on a regular basis. I started out jogging and walking, then slowly built up to being able to run 4 miles straight. When I first began, I had no desire to run any kind of races. Me, run in a race? Yeah, I don’t think so. Well, somewhere between back then and now, I totally changed my opinion on that apparently. Me, run a half-marathon? I CAN do that! I did do that!
Are you a new runner, or are you that person who has been thinking about getting out there and trying to run? Did you make a New Year’s Resolution to run a 5k, but haven’t started yet because you’re not quite sure where to begin? You know the saying “there’s an app for that”? Well, it’s pretty much true.
You may have heard about the Couch to 5k running plan, but did you know that they have apps for it? There are a few out there, but I’ll fill you in on a couple of them that seem to be the most popular.
The first one is the Couch-to-5k App (available for iPhone and Android).
Here’s a description of the app features from the developers:
• Training plan designed by Active.com trainers
• Choose from 5 different motivating virtual coaches—Johnny Dead, Constance, Billie, Sergeant Block, and our lovely dog Pumpkin
• Hear real-human audio cues to guide you through each workout
• Listen to your favorite playlists with in-app music player
• Calculate your distance & pace and map your routes with FREE GPS support (requires iPhone 3G, 3GS, or iPhone 4 and iOS 4.0 or greater)
• Log your workouts, share your progress on Facebook and get support from the largest running community on Active.com Trainer
• Get an exclusive discount to register for a 5K in your area
• Repeat workouts and track your best performance
• Treadmill support allows manual entry of workouts
• Track your progress with total distance and average pace
• Graphs for workouts to compare distance and pace
It goes for a $1.99 in iTunes and $2.99 in Google Play. It was the winner of the 2012 Appy Award for best Healthcare & Fitness App. I read online that Jamie Lee Curtis even used this app to get race ready!
The second is the 5k Runner: 0 to 5K run training app (available for iPhone and iPad) :
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Here are the specs on this app from the developers:
COACHING
● audio coach tells you when to walk or run
● starts slow & gradually increases the running
● easy & simple, nothing to learn
MUSIC
● listen to your music while running
● audio coach gently blends in when needed
● compatible with ALL music apps
MOTIVATION
● earn wins and badges
● share your wins on Facebook, Twitter, mail
● meet other trainees on our facebook community
● motivational quotes for your mind & body
GREAT WITH OTHER APPS
● compatible with all running GPS apps
● Nike+, RunKeeper, MapMyRun and ALL others
SUCCESS
● Only 30 mins a day, 3 days a week, 8 weeks
● Designed to make any beginner succeed
● Extensive guidance for beginners
● Answers to all common questions
AND THERE’S MORE
● works outdoors / indoors / treadmill
● works perfectly even if your device is locked
● works perfectly also in background
● stretching & warmup videos
● male & female audio coaches
● and there is more…
Built for:
✔ iPhone & iPod touch
✔ iPad – awesome on a treadmill
The 5K Runner app has one multiple awards including “Best iPhone fitness and nutrition apps”,”Top fitness app” ,and “Editor’s Choice”. It goes for $2.99 in iTunes.
So basically, these apps are kind of like having a running coach, only you have more control of when and where you work out. The Couch-to-5K app and 5K Runner app both claim that if you follow their program, you can go from literally being a couch potato to running a 5K. You just have to believe in yourself and put in the time and effort.
*For those of you that have already run a 5K, there is a new 5K to 10K App that is supposed to help take you to the next level.
Have you ever run a 5K? Did you use a running app to help you with your training?
