New Year, New Me
- Joanna
- Jan 3, 2022
- 4 min read
Happy New Year!! 2021 has been a challenging one for sure. So many things happened though, and for the most part, my changes were made for the good ☺️. (Anybody else on the Great Resignation train?). I'm very grateful for my friends and family in my life, and this year is definitely marked as a milestone year for me.
One thing that I want to change though is that COVID weight! It's actually work weight 😢 I was very consistent in my workout routine while I was in school 5 years ago, but work shifted my priorities. In the beginning, I would try to go running everyday after work, but eventually with the long commutes and toxic work environment, all I wanted to do after getting home was nap. My weight is actually my biggest insecurity, and I have been getting tired of not liking how I look in pictures.
After starting my new job, I decided to try to prioritize my health again, and actually ran my first 5k in November! I have done 5k's for fun before, but this one I finished while running/jogging all 3.1 miles 👏. The training wasn't easy, and it took me almost a full year to be comfortable with running the 5k. I'm planning to keep working on it so that it's not as much of a struggle, maybe even adding more distance, too!
Basically what I'm trying to say is that if I can do it, you can definitely do it too. I have never been good at running, but with regular practice, at least you can build up to a point where you can run for awhile and not feel like you're dying. I also forgot how good you feel afterwards too! During the process, I tried a few 5k training apps, mostly free ones! So here is me showing you a few of them:
We Summarize Things
Out of the three that I tried, C25K was my favorite. Not only are the workouts manageable, each lasting about 30 minutes, but it's also free!
Zombies, Run! 5k Training
Rating: D
This was the first app that I tried, from a recommendation by a friend. Apart from the fact that this app started my running journey, I wouldn't really recommend this to anybody.... (Disclaimer: I've never used the original Zombie Run app, so maybe those who've used it would enjoy this one more than I did.
First of all, the whole training program is based on a story where you run away from zombies as you're collecting materials to bring back to the base. There's also this weird side story where the trainer "gives" you an old headset of a previous runner who turned into a zombie and who also happened to be this guy's lover 🙄. Kinda tacky, if you ask me.
Secondly, not only was the storyline hard for me to want to keep using it, but the lengths of each workout were hard to keep up with. Some were almost an hour long, which was really hard for me to commit to in the beginning when I was trying to build up my routine. The workouts had stretches placed in the middle of some walking and running. In theory, this sounds like a good idea, but I didn't wanna stop every few minutes to do heel raises and shit like that 😕.
Lastly, It was really hard for me to keep using this app because the interface is really clunky. You can't go forwards or back in the middle of a workout if you want to skip a part, and the home screen design is just so lazy in my opinion.
This app costs $40 a year ($6 monthly) for the full program. Not worth it, in my opinion.
C25K 5K Trainer
Rating: A
This app was my favorite by far. I actually finished this program and relied on it to train for my 5k! I really enjoyed the interface of this app a lot better than the zombie one. The only voices in this app are when they tell you to start running/walking, halfway through, and one minute left. This was very good for me because it allowed me to listen to my podcasts and I'm not forced do listen to some shitty storyline that I didn't care about.
Also, each workout was consistently 30-35 minutes, so it was easy for me to incorporate these runs into my daily routine. It wasn't too much commitment during the day, which didn't give me an excuse to skip a workout.
This running program is designed to be 8 weeks long. However, I took about 12 weeks because it took me longer to get used to running long distances. For example, I repeated weeks 6 and 8 a few times, because the longer distance runs really intimidated me, and I wasn't mentally ready to move on to longer distances.
This app costs $60 a year ($5 monthly) for the full program. However, I think the free version is perfectly fine to use.
5K Runner: Couch to 5K Trainer
Rating: B
I found this one through Tiktok (#millennialtok anybody?) and the colorful interface caught my eye. I really liked this running program! The app was really easy to use, and I really liked the colors! I appreciate how there's a coach who motivates you through each running interval. If you're listening to a podcast though, you'll need to pause it every once in awhile to listen to the coach, but that's not a big deal because the coach doesn't talk for more than a few minutes at a time.
In general, 5K Runner operates really similarly to C25K, aside from the coach. Each workout consists of walking and running intervals, most of which last no more than 35 minutes each time, for a total of 8 weeks. The only reason why I give this app a B is because it's not exactly free... which is why I don't think it's worth the money. Because it's so similar to C25K, I would rather just stick with the free version of C25K.
This app costs $10 for 3 months. I only got to use the 7 day trial and really liked it, but not enough to pay for the full version, since C25K works perfectly fine for me.
All in all, I would recommend the C25K app for anybody who is just starting to get into running because it is free of any commitments and subscriptions, if you are looking to try out a program that is structured to help you get off the couch.
Good luck everybody, and happy 2022! 🎉🎉🎉
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