I finished the Couch to 5k program and then came in 545th out of 789 people in a 5km race — not bad for an absolute beginner — and then started looking for something else to keep myself interested in running. I happened upon the Podrunner: Intervals podcast by DJ Beatsmith. I am now on week 6 and I can definitely recommend this podcast as a good running companion. The only complaints I have are: there is too much talking before the run (the talking time should be incorporated into the walking warmup); the times are not announced at the beginning of the podcast, so you have no idea how long you are going to have to run that day unless you go and look it up every day before you run (and the times are hard to find on the website); there should be a 5 minute cool down time after every run (the cooldown times are seemingly random); and the podcast just ends so sometimes you start back at the beginning of the podcast without realizing it.
The P:I website does not have a clear listing of the actual intervals that are used, so it is hard to evaluate the program before you begin. Here is a list of times for the workouts that I eventually found by digging around the archives and the Yahoogroup for the podcast. Hope someone else finds them useful.
First Day to 5K: Week 1
5-minute warmup @ 128 bpm
60 seconds @ 142 bpm
90 seconds @ 128 bpm
60 seconds @ 142 bpm
90 seconds @ 128 bpm
60 seconds @ 142 bpm
95 seconds @ 128 bpm
65 seconds @ 142 bpm
95 seconds @ 128 bpm
65 seconds @ 142 bpm
90 seconds @ 128 bpm
65 seconds @ 142 bpm
90 seconds @ 128 bpm
60 seconds @ 142 bpm
95 seconds @ 128 bpm
65 seconds @ 142 bpm
3-minute cooldown @ 128 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 2
5-minute warmup @ 128 bpm
90 seconds @ 138 bpm
Two minutes @ 128 bpm
90 seconds @ 138 bpm
Two minutes @ 128 bpm
90 seconds @ 138 bpm
Two minutes @ 128 bpm
90 seconds @ 138 bpm
Two minutes @ 128 bpm
90 seconds @ 138 bpm
Two minutes @ 128 bpm
90 seconds @ 138 bpm
1 min. 50 seconds cooldown @ 128 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 3
5-minute warmup @ 130 bpm
90 seconds @ 140 bpm
90 seconds @ 130 bpm
3 min. @ 140 bpm
3 min. @ 130 bpm
90 seconds @ 140 bpm
90 seconds @ 130 bpm
3 min. @ 140 bpm
4-min, 10-sec. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 4
5-min. warmup @ 129 bpm
3 min. @ 140 bpm
90 sec. @ 130 bpm
5 min. @ 140 bpm
2 min. 30 sec. @ 130 bpm
3 min. @ 140 bpm
90 sec. @ 130 bpm
5 min. @ 140 bpm
2-min. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 5 – Mix 1
5-min. warmup @ 130 bpm
3 min. @ 140 bpm
3 min. @ 131 bpm
5 min. @ 140 bpm
3 min. @ 131 bpm
5 min. @ 140 bpm
2 min. 30 sec. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 5 – Mix 2
5-minute warmup @ 130 bpm
8 minutes @ 140 bpm
5 minutes @ 131 bpm
8 minutes @ 140 bpm
1-min. 45-sec. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 5 – Mix 3
5 min. warmup @ 130 bpm
20 min. @ 140 bpm
3 min. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 6 – Mix 1
5-min. warmup @ 131 bpm
5 min. @ 141 bpm
3 min. @ 132 bpm
8 min. @ 141 bpm
3 min. @ 132 bpm
5 min. @ 141 bpm
4-min. cooldown @ 131 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 6 – Mix 2
5 min. warmup @ 130 bpm
10 min. @ 140 bpm
3 min. @ 131 bpm
10 min. @ 140 bpm
4 min. cooldown @130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 6 – Mix 3
5 min. warmup @ 130 bpm
25 min. @ 140 bpm
3 min. 30 sec. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 7
5-min. warmup @ 130 bpm
25 min. @ 140 bpm
4-min. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 8
5-min. warmup @ 130 bpm
28 min. @ 140 bpm
4-min. 30-sec. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 9
5-min. warmup @ 130 bpm
30 min. @ 140 bpm
4-min. 30-sec. cooldown @ 130 bpm
First Day to 5K: Week 10 – Graduation Mix
5-min. warmup @ 135 bpm
35 min. @ 145 bpm
4 min. 30 sec. cooldown @ 135 bpm
hey, thanks so much for this. i just moved onto week two and was so confused about what the intervals were. this helped quite much!
Hi Mia,
I am glad you found the information useful. It was quite hard to find, and I was certain that other people would want to have all of this information in one place, so I decided to compile it here. I hope the Podrunner people don’t mind! (Actually, I wrote to them and asked them to put this information up on their site, but I never got a reply. Maybe the message got filtered to their spam folder or something.)
Ohisashiburi!
I’m on my third try with C25K, and this is the first time I’m really enjoying it, all thanks to the podcasts. I had been wondering what was up with the P:I ‘cool downs’ since they didn’t seem long enough – now I know.
As for running time lengths, I use Robert Ullrey’s podcast for the first run of the week, and then switch to P:I for the rest of the week. DJ Beatsmith does a good job of keeping the tempo appropriate for running (alas, Ullrey’s tempos aren’t nearly as good and I find myself having to create my own rhythm).
Thanks for the info and links. Gambatte ne!
Hey Andi,
So great to hear from you! I completely agree about Ullrey’s music choices not being quite as good, but I do like how he encourages me to keep going. I missed that when I started to do Podrunner. The chimes that they use made me feel like some sort of robot following commands. I am used to them now, though.
I am about to start week 9 of Podrunner:Intervals, so I am in the market for my next training podcast. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!
I also struggled with motivational issues before I started using podcasts to keep me going. I wish there were more podcasts that used timed-intervals of music like this because they really do work. If they can get ME up and running in the mornings, they can work for ANYONE.
Just what I was looking for! Thank you!
The run times for every one of the Podrunner: Intervals series are cleverly hidden on each series’ where it says “For a printable series outline with BPM schedules and run times, click here.” See http://www.djsteveboy.com/1day25k.html.
Those fiends.
Oh, they’ve updated the site! Excellent. (That link wasn’t there before.)
I actually don’t understand the reason for BPM? Do I need to run on a certain speed,if that is the case how do I measure it? Do I need to use the treadmills speed measurement? Sorry I’m ignorant.
Hi Lhay,
I don’t think you need to worry about the BPM. The songs get slightly faster as you go along and that tends to make you run a bit faster if you let the music guide your pace. I think the important information is the length of the intervals in minutes. You can pretty much ignore the BPM information.
I would like to know approx treadmill speed versus the bpm if anyone gets this figured out. Helps me stay at the right speed…..
Really helpful with the breakdown. On my second week…and enjoying it.
I am just starting – week 2 of c 2 5K and I tell you what.. I love it. I like not knowing when the beat’s going to change. It keeps it interesting! I agree that there’s too much blah blah at the beginnig but I just use that for warm up time or play something else to warm up and fast forward past the blah. . I also agree that the cooldown is not long enough. I stay on the treadmill, take the speed down to about 2.5, gradually to 2.0 and stop when I feel completely cooled down. I want to lose 15 pounds. I feel motivated enough that I think this program may do the trick.
What a great idea these podcasts are!
The price is right also …. FREEEEEEEE~~