First post- just graduated from couch25k

[RunRach]

Hello all!

Just graduated from couch to 5k this evening!

Planning on 4 weeks of consolidation runs- can do 4K in 30 mins at the mo so next challenge would be getting a bit faster and managing 5k

Any advice grately appreciated 😀

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate10]

Congratulations on completing run 3 of week 9 and graduating from C25K, well done 😀

To get your graduation badge and the word GRADUATE 🎓 next to your username leave a message on the August graduation Healthunlocked C25K home page and tell the administrators that you have ran W9R3 of C25K and graduated 🎓 🏃 😊

[Stephen_UK Graduate10]

Welcome to this bit of the forum, RR. That sounds like a good plan re: consolidation. Don’t worry about speed for now. It will take care of itself as you get more comfortable running for longer times and start looking ahead to running slightly longer distances.

[JaoJao Graduate10]

Welcome! This will help you keep running 🏃‍♀️

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

Welcome to the 4K club - I and many others graduated there. If you have a parkrun close by ,why not try that on a Saturday. Start at the back, don’t try to go fast, and see how far you can go, then walk. There will be lots of people to cheer you to the end. My favourite run of the week 😃

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

Welcome Rach! This is a friendly forum too, full of general running chat and advice. Enjoy your onward journey, wherever it takes you. 😀🏃‍♀️👍

[Setters Graduate10]

Well done for completing C25K, brilliant feeling isn’t it. I completed end Jan this year, consolidated for around a month then slowly increased the time I was running, about 5 mins per week for one run. This meant I eventually got to 5k, once there I increased my distance by 1k for once a week, when I got to 10k I continued to increase one run by 1k, but increased the other shorter run to around 7-6k as I was finding my brain was expecting to stop at the 5k mark. I am not fussed about speed, but do run every step whatever distance I have decided to do that run. I am now on the way to my target of half marathon distance before mid 2020.

This plan is working well for me, but everyone is different, just have fun running “free” for a while, and then decide where you want to go next. Good luck

[skysue16 Graduate10 in reply to Setters]

Wow, Setters you are doing so well, congratulations! 😀

[skysue16 Graduate10]

Many congratulations RunRach my advice is take things steady and enjoy your runs 😀

[HuwC Graduate10]

Parkrun is a great way to increase speed, it’s surprisingly how much you can push yourself with other runners and the great support the run offers. So one of my three runs a week was a park run and the others a standard 5k and then a slow long run which I extended 10 per cent a week. I started C25K in November, and now I run a half marathon once a month - I never dreamt I’d be doing that.

Congratulations on your graduation!

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate10]

Hi RunRach, Congratulations for completing c25k and Graduating.😊🖐

Yes, regular 30 minute runs will continue to help build your strength and stamina. When you are ready you could try adding an extra minute or two to one of your weekly runs to increase the distance you cover. It can be hard to run past the place you usually stop, so I found starting further away, or new routes helpful. Playlist on shuffle...

The c25k + podcasts are worth trying too, for something different but still structured.

Keep posting, it will be lovely to have you running with us.😊x

[Run46 Graduate10]

Hi and welcome, I'm quite new here too. After graduation I consolidated for a couple of weeks then added on a few minutes and worked my way up to 5K. It took 36 minutes and I was pleased as punch. It's a great second goal for you to work to. Enjoy consolidation and very well done on graduating C25K 🎉🏃‍♀️