Hi, I recently finished C25K and did my first park run yesterday. I would like to increase distance, and currently do 3 x 30 mins a week. For 2 of these runs, I cannot increase the time I run, (usual child commitments/work) but I can for my weekend run. Do you think I should just very gradually increase the distance on my weekend run, or try the Ju Ju plan with the longer run at the weekend until I cannot fit one of the runs into 30 mins?
Please could someone also post a link to the plan, as I have seen a couple of different ones on here so that I know which one we are talking about.
TIA,
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sunshinefish
Graduate10
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Hi SSF! Sorry, no links to give you I’m afraid. I kind of do my own thing at the moment and I’m working towards 10k. So far so good. 🤞
I graduated in August and consolidated for a couple of weeks with 30 minute runs, then one day continued on and ran 5k (took 43+ minutes.) My PB is 37.02 at parkrun, so a fair chunk off.
Now my 3 weekly runs consist of parkrun, a 4k and a ‘long’ run which started at 5k and will be up to 8k this week. I hope to reach 10k by the end of November.
This just fits in well with my regular routine. I’m never going to be quick, but I’m happy with my fitness and stamina. To gain speed, it’s probably best to follow more of a structured plan, but I just wanted to let you know that it’s not 100% necessary! Good luck. 😀😀
Thank you cheekychipmunks! This sounds a bit like what I will probably end up doing, one longer run a week and two of around 5k. How much extra do you add onto your long run each week?
I do like a plan and structure though! Maybe I should map it all out on a piece of paper...
I started with 5k and to begin with I added 0.25k per week until I got to 6.5k. I then thought I’d start adding 0.5k, but ended up running back to my car which made my next run 7.25k!
So I figured I’d go for 8k this week and see what happens after that!
Good luck, it’s fun having a goal, and now I’ve discovered that for me, 10k will be almost exactly 3 loops of my usual route, so that makes it feel very doable! 😀🏃♀️
Thanks! I like the idea of adding just a bit each week. It made me laugh, your running back to the car and adding extra distance!
I need to figure out which app to use to track distance, mapmyrun and strava disagree by about 200 - 300m for my usual run around a track which would probably be the amount I am adding each week. I always lose track of how many laps I have done too!
That's the thing! At park run they both agreed on 5.1k.... but around the track they disagree. Odd, but yes, am happy to go for the mapmyrun as that gives me the greater distances!
Hello sunshinefish, well done on your c25k graduation. If you cannot run longer than 30 minutes during the week, why not try increasing your weekend run each week by no more than 10%. Some people have also done juju’s plan but Increased the long run by 500m each week. I am sure you will find a system that will work for you.
Congratulations on completing C25K!Like others have said, you can do it in different ways. I consolidated for a couple of weeks and then started out with one short fast run followed by a 30 minute run and then gradually increased a longer run. I have since revised the fast run to a short run with fast bursts built in. I’m currently up to 8.2k. Good luck 🙂
Awesome! Thank you. I had seen this but have also seen some where you run for x mins, walk for y and repeat so many times... this one looks like I could fit it in with my longer runs on Sundays too. Although a k a week addition has me a bit anxious...
There are dozens of people on here who have followed that plan through to successful conclusion, many almost immediately after completing C25K, helped enormously by swapping their experiences (on the run and in the gear shop ) on the forum. The extra Ks will be fine as long as you allow yourself to drop off your usual 5k / 30 min pace a bit.
As you will have seen, the plan has a weekly 5k run as a constant, with one short run (building up to 4k) and one long one (up to 10k eventually). Lots of us used Parkrun for the 5k, but you will have to do the long run at the weekend, so fit the 5k in midweek. You don't say if you are currently managing 5k in 30 mins, but if you aren't, and that's all the time you've got, don't worry, just do the 30 mins trying to get a bit further each time. It's less structured than C25K, so you can pretty much play it by ear (or legs, or lungs ).
Personally I don't see the point of using a walk/run routine once you can consistently run for 30 mins or more - which is not to say that walking a short section or two, especially uphill, of a long run as and when necessary makes the run invalid.
Thank you! I am getting between 4.7 - 5k during the 30 min runs, Mapmyrun and strava disagree on the exact distance. I think maybe I should just not worry so much about having a plan and up the distance gradually and see where I end up. As long as get 3 x 30 mins in a week all is well
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