JuJu's Plan (Timed version)

[Davo123]

Hey guys, I started JuJu's plan a few weeks ago, intending to do the distance version and get to 10km by the end. However, I had a bad Week 1 Run 2 and didn't manage the full 5km but did run the full 30 minutes. So then, I switched to the timed plan and managed to keep to the required times. Then another slip up - I went away last week and missed run 3 of week 3. I've now gone back a week and restarted week 3; after a week away, (including a few heavy nights on the beer!!). I struggled to keep to my planned pace of 10km/hr, for the short run. I was wondering, should I be looking to run the shorter distance at a faster pace or is it acceptable to run all 3 runs at the same pace?

[MarkyD Graduate10]

JuJu's Magic10 plan is a program to get you from 5km (or 30 minutes) to 10km (or 60 minutes). There is no specification about pace. The 3 runs per week are long slow run, 5km run (probably parkrun) and a shorter run. The shorter run can be a recovery run if you need it, or intervals if you prefer. Note that interval running has short bursts of faster running with recovery runs in between.

I'll say it again: don't set conflicting goals. Work on one goal at a time. Since you are doing Magic10 program, forget about a pace goal. When you are running 10km your 5km pace will naturally improve. Setting arbitrary pace goals whilst increasing your distance is going to cause problems like "a bad W1r2", "struggled to keep my planned pace". If you are struggling to keep to 6 minute pace for the short run, then Magic10 is not going to get you running at that same 6 minute pace for 10km. Give it up. Let it go. Relax. Enjoy running. Plan to run for 60 minutes. No-one on here cares if you run 10km or 6km in that hour (well, only you).

To answer your question... yes, you are allowed to run all three runs each week at the same pace. BUT I would suggest this: what is your natural 5km pace? Or, if you prefer, how far do you run in 30 minutes? Take this as a benchmark pace. Then run your longer run at a 20 second slower pace. And try some intervals for the short run.

As an example, say that you run 5km in 30 minutes. That's a 6 minute pace (6 minutes per kilometer). So run the longer distance at a 6'20" pace. It'll feel slow. It is supposed to.

Davo, here is my prediction. You're going to ignore everything that I said, then post in a couple of weeks that you're on the injury couch.

[IAmCharliemouse Graduate10 in reply to MarkyD]

Wise words!

Pace is personally interesting, and can become quite an obsession. It's fun monitoring yourself and getting all the stats. But worrying about it, and/or forcing it seems to be the most common way to either injure yourself or give up. I am only speaking from a tiny amount of personal experience, and what I read here.

Marky is absolutely right, that running longer will mean your shorter distances get faster. My experience is that it just happens; you don't need to force it to.

My perspective is that I am in this for the long game. If I have a bad run, or a bad week, or even a bad month, who cares? Only I do. What matters are the years and the decades.

[MelwynD in reply to MarkyD]

Wish I had this advice earlier. I tried to improve both pace and distance when I graduated C25K last month, and now I can't even run for more than 10 mins. I feel I need to start C25K from scratch again

[UpTheStanley Graduate10]

I agree with everything MarkyD says - except taking his example I'd suggest no quicker than 6'30" pace rather than 6'20" for the longer runs. My 5k pace then was around 5'00" and I "bridged" running around an average 6'00" on those runs - usually doing the first 2k at a 7'30" jog with Dexy5 and the rest at around 5'30". For my graduation run I ditched the jog for the first time and managed 55'31", so 5'34"/k pace.

Now, having been running 10k+ regularly for the best part of a year, I was absolutely delighted to run a recent 10k in 51'44" (5'03"/k) last week, on a day when just about everything went perfectly. Improvement takes time - and I've run for fitness all my life, though I only started taking it semi-seriously and going beyond 5k 18 months or so ago. Oh, and I ran parkrun at 4'45" pace on Saturday, so yes, running further does help improve speed over shorter distances, as do intervals.

The "failure" on your recent short run was just a crap day - they happen (especially on "comeback" runs ). Forget about it . And stay off the IC!

[backintime Graduate10]

I ran all 3 slowly...but I got to 10k.

I am starting to increase my speed slightly on my shorter runs now I am moving up to HM (or trying to : ) ).

I would suggest you choose what is more important to you...speed or distance. For me it was distance. Work on the one you choose, then once you have achieved that goal you can work on the next goal. There's no rush is there ?

Good luck

[Saxart Graduate10]

I found a link yesterday on a running magazine site which you added your timed run. Which I put my parkrun time and then it fillled in all the other times for slow run's etc that it recommended. It was considerably slower than my time I put it.

[sTrongFuse Graduate10]

I personally think the only two stats that matter are, "how long did I run for?" and "how far did I run?" The relationship between the two changes every time I step out the door.

I started doing the the timed version to take me up to an hour. When I ran that hour I was on 8k, so I took that as being my first 8k long run on the distance plan and started it from its next week (W6 from memory) and built to 10k.

That's the beauty of the plan, you can adapt it to fit your own goals and motivations.

For me, the key is just finding my "happy pace" that gets me to the end of my run (distance or time). What that pace is, I don't worry about. I leave the running to my legs while my mind is free to contemplate other things.