Marathon to Couch Program

Everyone's heard of a Couch to 5K Program.

But has anyone heard of a Marathon to Couch Program?

[Apparently google hasn't either.]

One Saturday morning last summer, while doing a double-digit long run, my friend Sara came up with her post-Marathon program.

Instead of deciding to train for a winter or spring race, she had plans to turn off the training for the winter. Some quality couch (and gym) time.

Sara's reasoning is quite simple. It's too freakin' cold in Chicago to run outside in the winter. She thinks winter runners are crazy, which is quite a statement coming from someone who's run three marathons.

The Marathon to couch program goes something like this:

You take the hours you used to spend running and convert them in to couch time.

2-3 hours one weekend, the next weekend 5-6 hours, and then you cut back to 3-4 hours.
Kind of like the Hal Higdon program -Two weeks of increase followed by one cut back week.

By March you should be ready for a marathon of 8-9 hour couch-laying.

Maybe you have special clothes that are good for the couch. Sara has special socks, but she didn't buy them at Fleet Feet.

You can get injured if you don't have the right support - think pillows instead of running shoes. TV neck is a common injury. You can also lose circulation by laying on one arm too long.

Instead of energetic 'running' music (progressive house per say) , couch music is more like cafe del mar or tantra lounge volume 3 (think chill out music).

Energy bars or gu may be substituted for your favorite sugary or salty snack, and don't forget to sub your Gatorade and water for beer.

[Thanks for the idea and the input Sara!]