Podcast Review: NHS Couch to 5K +

They're finally here: The NHS Couch to 5k + podcasts! You have no idea how excited I was when I realised that this had been released.

I was so excited, that as soon as I got home, I downloaded the podcast, laced up my trainers and headed straight outside.

There was one problem though - I had just devoured this:

Picture taken by my lovely friend Mhairi!

So I was feeling slightly full and, dare I say it, nauseous. How was I supposed to know that the series was going to come out on the same day as my work's special afternoon tea?!

But that wasn't going to stop me! I had a podcast to review!

The NHS Couch to 5k + podcasts are a follow up series to the AWESOME Couch to 5k plan, which is aimed at getting absolute novices up and running for 30 minutes non stop in only 9 weeks.

But what do you do when those 9 weeks are over? Well, that's where Couch to 5k + comes in. The series is a set of three podcasts, each one aimed to help you achieve a different goal. So whether you want to increase your mileage or your speed, or whether you just want a halfway house before moving on to something else, these podcasts will give you a helping hand.

The podcasts were made in conjunction with AudioFuel, who specialise in making training plans based on music with a specific bpm (beats per minute). As a result, pace is a very prominent feature in these podcasts.

So, you have a choice of three sessions: Stepping Stone, Stamina and Speed. Unlike the original Couch to 5k plan, you can do the podcasts in whatever order you want. So, as I want to increase my pace for my upcoming 10k races, I decided to go for the 'Speed' session.

The Speed podcast is an interval training session, which is a great way to train if you want to increase your pace. The structure was pretty simple: a five minute warm up walk, followed by a warm up run at 155 bpm, followed by six 60 second intervals at 160 bpm, with 60 seconds of 150 bpm recovery in between. The whole thing clocks in at about 26 minutes, so it's shorter to what the seasoned Couch to 5k graduate is used to, but it is still designed to pose a bit of a challenge.

The main difficulty for me was getting used to the structure of the music: you have to synchronise your strides to the beat. As I've been setting my own pace pretty much since I began running, it was a little bit awkward at first having my own rhythm dictated to me. However, I got used to it and about 10 minutes in I felt pretty good.

The thing is, I completed the Couch to 5k plan over a year ago (oh my, time flies when you're having fun) and since then I have been covering about 20k a week, completed two half marathons and broke the 10k under an hour. So, I'm sorry to say, I may have overshot a little bit. For me, the pace of the workout didn't get me into the satisfying sweat I normally aim for. Besides the odd urge to throw up some rogue cake, I didn't find the session particularly challenging.

But as I said, I have been training hard for a good while now so I think I might have been a little bit worried if I had found it tough. Don't get me wrong, I still got a decent workout, and it was really nice to be under the guidance of Laura again. However, I think this series is aimed at more recent graduates of the Couch to 5k plan, or those who have been going at a bit more of a steady pace since their graduation.

In any case, they are still worth a bash. They're free after all, so you have nothing at all to lose!

Get them here from the iTunes store.