5k Frustration

[Rockshammer]

Afternoon all,

I know I shouldn't get hung up over this but I just can get under 30 mins for 5k

It's silly I know but it's a small personal goal of mine

Cheers

[Dunder2004 Graduate10]

Be patient. Looking at your posting history, it is only a short time since you came back to running and you will still progress lots from here.

[Rockshammer in reply to Dunder2004]

Cheers Dundee I know you are right of course!!!!

[AnneDroid Graduate10]

I share your frustration. Me neither!

[Millsie-J]

Hi, well done on your progress so far. Looking at previous posts it looks like you have only just worked through the programme, so you perhaps need to be more patient with yourself.

You don't say what speed and stamina training you are working on to improve your speeds. It might be worth reading up on training tips to help.

[Davoda Graduate10]

What are you doing to deliberately improve your speed?

I totally recommend HIT training like this:

runnersworld.com/peak-perfo...

Or even in your regular running, add in a few sprints - say every 5 mins up your pace for 1 min.

I try to go faster uphill - lol I can do it the first 3 hills of my run, but by the last one I'm happy to get up it!!!

(I took 2 mins of my 5 k by doing this - but then I love the adrenaline rush of speed, or at least going as fast as I can!)

[Hidden]

I know the feeling!! My 5k pb is down to 30.46 so I am close. But then I have only been off the couch since August. My other goal is to get to 10k and know I can do that distance. I have to be patient especially as I struggle to fit three lots of running in a week, usually two though. It will come for us both!

[Hidden]

This is what I did - One month plan from a magazine article I read

Week 1-3

You need at least two routes. One nice flat straight forward fast route for the 5k under 30. Do this route at least twice a week at easy pace, make yourself run it slower than you'd like to. The other route needs to be off road, trail, woods, dirt track type and at least 8k with elevation of at least 50m but no more than 80m. Do this once a week at easy slow pace. Enjoy the trail run, no clock watching. If there's obstacles like gates all the better. Relish the little breaks. Don't walk the hills, slow jog them.

Week 4

Run your fast 5k in under 30

[Hidden]

Do you do parkrun at all? At around my 10th parkrun I hit under 30min but it was also a golden day, had friends there, the weather was great, the vibe felt right, etc. Good company and conditions help. But also be patient. It took me over a year after finishing c25k, losing excess weight, and getting fitter in other ways too... And when I run 5k on my own it still takes me more like 35-40mins!

[Michael_W]

Patience, grasshopper! Main thing for recent graduates to do is to establish a solid running habit after the c25k plan has ended. You're still getting fitter so the times will most likely keep coming down of their own accord.

If you want, you can help things along a bit by shedding any extra pounds and by pushing a bit in each training run. Personally I wind it up in the last kilometre and sprint the last 30 seconds.

Otherwise just let nature take its course. Later you can think about specific training methods for improving speed and endurance (intervals, hills, longer runs etc).

If it's convenient, a parkrun visit will bring your times down as well. It's not quite the same as a race but most people experience an adrenaline kick in the company of so many other runners so that will knock a few seconds off your time.

Talking of which, I just checked the stats for my local parkrun and for the last 12 events (Nov '16 till now) the average number of runners coming in at 30 minutes or under was just over 70%. That figure includes events over Christmas and New Year with a greater proportion of slower, new/inexperienced runners. So, 30 minutes is perfectly achievable. Now, sub-25, that's something else!

Good luck!

[ju-ju- Graduate10]

It's not easy... but training and perseverance pay off. For now you could do two things:

C25k plus speed podcasts

30,20,10 : healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

My journey using them

Good luck!

[Davoda Graduate10 in reply to ju-ju-]

Yeah!!! So good to read of someone actually using this method (30/20/10) & it working. I've been doing it & felt confident it would work, but seeing this evidence made me smile. 😀😀😀

[ju-ju- Graduate10 in reply to Davoda]

Glad you like my sophisticated spreadsheet 😜

[Davoda Graduate10 in reply to ju-ju-]

AND someone I "know"!!!

[IannodaTruffe Graduate10]

My advice to you is not to get frustrated with your situation, but learn to accept that you are where you are regarding pace and make positive plans to improve the situation. I am at present running much slower than I was when I first graduated as I am trying to get back to regular running after a back problem. Frustration is negative and will affect your mindset, so banish it and put in the work. There are no shortcuts.

I don't know your history, but if you are a recent graduate, then you are a very, very new runner, with only a matter of hours of running under your belt and all things take time. Targets are useful, but getting hung up on them is not. Acceptance combined with planning is the way forward. Keep running, keep smiling.