I have no idea whether or not this is/was authentic or endorsed by the Vancouver Sun, but let me tell you, it works! I used this myself to go from never running unless something was chasing me to doing 5- and 10-k races, and more importantly I did it without injury. It’s a very safe, slow training plan, just the thing for someone only starting out. And of course, the best thing about running is, it doesn’t take a million years to show the benefits. It burns calories, it changes your muscles, it boosts your metabolism, and it makes you feel great!
…once it’s over!
Frankly, running bores the heck out of me, but it’s good for a body and it takes a lot less time than sitting on the sofa arguing with yourself about whether or not you should go to the gym. So if you’ve got a good pair of shoes and whatever supportive undergarmenture you require, you might as well get a checkup and then start on this.
Download the Sun Run training plan
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raincoaster media 
Metro
April 16, 2007
Okay, went out and did the run 1, walk 4, repeat 8 times thing this morning. Feels pretty good. Or maybe that’s just the advil.
raincoaster
April 16, 2007
That’s about where I’m at as well. Got to do another today, but it’s raining (of course!). Veddy annoying. Also, last time I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirrored window as I thundered past: let us just say that I have not returned to the gazelle-like gait of my Marathoning days…
Metro
April 17, 2007
Hey–Seilheimer made it!
You owe somebody (American Cancer Society, I’d suggest) twenty-five US smackeroonies.
raincoaster
April 17, 2007
I’m shocked and impressed. That poor man must be in so much pain right now. Hey, did he lose the 100 pounds he wanted, too?
raincoaster
April 17, 2007
Come to think of it, the Bear there would make a damn fine post for this blog. I shall have to write one up.
Doug
April 19, 2007
For comparison, I’m working through (or at least using the philosophy of) John Stanton’s running program. He started, or at least was involved in the start of, The Running Room.
His program takes you through several phases. The first “preconditioning” phase, intended for total couch potatoes, is intended to get you to the point where you can do a brisk walk for 45 minutes without killing yourself. It’s spread out over 10 weeks and ramps from walking 20 minutes 3 times per day to 45 minutes 3 times per day.
Next is an “endurance” phase, where you start to introduce slow running. Four weeks where you add a bit of running in once per week, and increase your time up to 1.5 hours.
Next is the “beginner’s conditioning program”, where you start running regularly. You start with run 1min and walk 2 min x6 and after 10 weeks get to run 20 minutes. I find it interesting that this program starts with more running (1 in 3 minutes compared with 1 in 10 for the Sun Run program), but shorter times (you end this phase with 20 minutes of running, vs. the Sun Run’s 45 minutes).
Beyond that, the program includes several program sets for training towards different length run, with different programs for different goal times.
I’m currently working towards the 10K, and am at the point of running 4 times per week for a total distance of 20K. Since my goal is fat-burning, I’m not paying any attention to my speed — just running to complete the distance.
raincoaster
April 19, 2007
I always went for distance, too. A brief look at the relative injury rates of speeders vs distancers will show you that it’s a much more practical approach.
I did one of the Running Room running groups, and it was a great experience. It’s nice to have someone else do the thinking for you, so you don’t need to figure out the pyramids, measure out the distances for hill sprints, etc.
I like setting aside the longer periods for running because it takes me 15 or 20 minutes just to get into it. And the endorphins don’t kick in until about minute 40 anyway. If you time it so you shower after your run and not both first thing in the morning AND after your run, you’ll save the difference in time.