Went out this morning for the NRC 15 min run , as part of my second week of the NRC 10k plan.
And … I have to admit, I’m on the fence on this one. I’m not sure I like these ultra short runs. But looking back at my last years posts, I must have liked them before.
Today, I actually ended up being out there for 25 minutes, as I added warm up and cool down walks, but still….
So what do I not like about the 15 min runs?
- at this time of the year, they just get me to the start of my favourite route but not deeper into it. This means I’m running ca 80% of the 15 run on road surfaces. I might as well choose a different road only route. Maybe I should. 🤔
- they feel ultra short. It feels like I’m returning before I’d even had a good stretch of a run. 🕰️
- they don’t seem to give me a nice runner’s high 😃
- they are so short that I actually forget what Coach Bennett said in them. I just remember that the engineer made an appearance. 🎧
So do you like 15 min run? I would be interested to hear how others feel about short 15min runs , as I actually would love to be persuaded that they are a great thing!
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UPDATE
Some tips from our VRBs of what makes short runs great (or even greater):
1) find a specific nice or scenic route dedicated for short runs
2) have #BreakfastOfChampions waiting for you
3) run them as part of a longer training plan. Or build it in as a strategy. “I think that's the key thing - targeted. If we are talking 'just a run' it doesn't hit the spot and satisfy until 20 minutes”
4) use shorter runs on days where there are already other fitness commitments
5) use them when you’re tired or short of energy
6) run shorter runs when it rains, storms or freezes
7) use them to “run around the block” or “through the village”
8) run them as a fifteen minute run in the middle of a long walk
9) try jeffing short runs with very short intervals
10) map routes and use them practically (faster than walking, and instead of a car/bike), e.g. to run to the coffee shop, routes to local shops and landmarks which cover all the NRC short run times (2 mins, 3 mins etc.) (tip: work out how long to each shop and schedule accordingly)
11) try short runs on a treadmill and using it like a warm up for hiit or another nike workout
12) use them as recovery runs if you run more than 3 times a week.
13) you can squeeze them in between two rain showers (this one came from my hubby, as I was reading him all these intriguing tips)
14) run to the local fish & chip shop if you fancy a treat
15) 15 min runs can be intense or relaxing, depending how you run them
16) 15 min runs might be great when you are not feeling well, coming down with some sniffles, but still want to clear the cobwebs
17) use short runs to run a "fast" mile once a week
18) go for a quick run to have a quick think about your plan for next week
19) use them when coming back from a long term injury
Written by
CBDB
Graduate10
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I am struggling with what I regard as the 'minimum' (ie the 30 minutes gifted to me by C25K) at the moment, for various reasons, so I am focussing on being pleased to get out there, but I think I'd say that less than 20 minutes just doesn't feel quite right so I get you!
I think it’s a genuine problem with c25k-it makes a lot of graduates think anything less than an 30 minute continuous run isn’t a proper run. Plenty of us regularly run shorter than that!
as part of RED FEB I was doing 15 min runs. They are particularly handy on days when you don’t have much time or when you have other fitness commitments (like a 30 mile bike ride). I had a particular circuit and I was able to compare my efforts with ease. I don’t run very fast so I was only running 2k in 15 mins. I’m not sure I’m a big fan but they served a purpose and got the job done.
For me, 20 minutes for when I'm short of energy or tired as I always seem to be lately, I have run the NRC 15 minute run but I ran it then turned round and ran back, 15 minutes doesn't warm me up enough, but I do like to follow a plan so .....
Yes, a 15 minute run out and then a free 15 minute run back, I seem to remember doing the 15 minute run as the last run of one week, turning round and setting if the 15 minute run for the first of the next week. Starting on 24th April I'm going to do the starter training plan and run every day but will walk some of them and build up slowly, then the 5k plan and do the same, I'm so looking forward to that and may stick to the plan because every day is a day off
I'm essentially a lazy so-and-so. I do like a nice short 20 minute run now and again, but I'm too idle to put my running gear and shoes on for anything shorter!
I don't think I've ever done a 15 minute run. I know this winter I've frequently got myself out the door by telling myself just "run round the block" which would probably be 15minutes but once out it turns into 30 minutes.
I really like them, especially when you’ve only got a small amount of time. I love feeling like I’ve done something when I wouldn’t have been able to fit in anything longer and they’re particularly good after a long or speed run when my legs are a little sore. I’m lucky to have a few nice routes that work for me. I also enjoy putting a fifteen minute run in the middle of a long walk.
Sort of-either a shorter section of an out and back I use a lot, or a twenty minute walk and fifteen minute run back, or a double lap of the village ending at the coffee shop! During lockdown I often went out for quick walk around the village as a way to get my daily walk in. That was about fifteen minutes.
These runs are more functional than other runs I do so I’m less bothered about exactly where I go. The out and back is a reliably good one for wildlife spotting though!
I’m surprised you’re so anti the 15 minute run but pro the 12 minute walk (not that that’s a problem-we’ve all got different tastes!)!
I don’t think the same way of 15 min walks! They’re great! But runs! They feel too short!
But part of me thinks that it’s actually because walking feels harder for me than running, due to my backache I get from walking, but not from running. So walking 15 minutes feels like an achievement for me, running 15 minutes feels like I haven’t even started yet.
How strange. Maybe I should try jeffing short runs with very short intervals. Mmmhhh 🤔🧐 I’ll have to have a think about that one.
What’s your minimum happy run distance? On a day when you’re short on time or bit tired the day after a long run, would you make the decision not to run at all? I don’t think it matters either way-we’re all different. I often can’t fit in anything long, or I want to get my legs moving post hard session (long or speed) so that’s when I really enjoy them. They were great getting used to running on consecutive days and post injury/illness too.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with deciding it’s not your sort of run and you’d rather go a bit longer. I’m sure all the NRC runs say you can do that if you want. I don’t find the warm up long enough on their speed runs so I add an extra five minutes myself before starting. It’s all about adapting to suit what works for you.
I think it’s 30 min for me. Excluding all runs that are long distance or are part of a training plan, most of my run-outings are between the 40 and 50 min mark, but that includes warmups and cool-downs.
For me, now I’m running longer and faster more often, a thirty minute run the day after a speed or long run wouldn’t work but my legs really like doing something. That’s when shorter runs work best. I’ve come to realise I’m really not much of a fan of the thirty minute run!
I guess that’s the great thing about being a graduate!
I feel the same! We all(?) know about the 'toxic 10' at the beginning of a run and I think that's relevant. I've certainly done and enjoyed short targeted sessions from the C25K+ podcast suite but I think that's the key thing - targeted. If we are talking 'just a run' it doesn't hit the spot and satisfy until 20 minutes.
I was doing my short run on a treadmill and using it like a warm up for hiit or another nike workout, same as you though 🤷♀️. I do really need to get back at it though been out once a week at best for weeks xx
Simple answer? No. I prefer to run from home and the topography round here makes 15 minute runs super-inconvenient. Any I do are generally unintended - I cut short a recent icy run because even the dog was slipping!
Looking at Strava, post-C25K I've only ever intentionally run for under 15 minutes once, on holiday, and that was also a dog walk!
Also I find that getting changed, pre- and post-run stretches, and a Toxic Ten is a lot of hassle if I'm only going to run for 15 minutes.
Sorry, that wasn't what you wanted to hear, was it?!
it sounds like you’ve got a nice 15min route in your vicinity. I must get my maps out again and look for a great short-run route. I bet it would make a huge difference to my liking short runs.
Yes and no. I do love getting out on a nice day and doing a nice route.
Sometimes I just really feel like I need a run and fifteen minutes is what works. Then, it really doesn’t matter where it is. I just need some good music and enough time to get out and back.
I did 15 minute runs as part of Ju-Ju’s magic plan and I really didn’t enjoy them. I found getting changed, warmed up, out there for 15 mins, stretches, shower just a complete faff. But then I know they helped me complete the programme to get me running 10k - so I understand the advantages 😆🤔
ha, didn’t even think of that. My stretch routine is 10-11 minutes (I have a timer app talking me through it) . That’s almost as long as the run! LOL 😂
I love them..Great for when time is short...Great as a comeback from illness or injury runs...it just tired legs....Great for an errand run. No pressure runs and very satisfying to have done them, where a longer run would not have been viable. Some of these runs do encompass some lovely little routes too..
I did the 14 minute today too, short on time but just for fun. It was excellent..!
I can see how it works well with lovely 15-minute routes Oldfloss . While I absolutely love where I run, shorter runs are actually proportionately steeper for me. If I want to do an easy run, longer is a better option!
yes, @cmoi much depends on the type and beauty of the route, I find.
OldflossAdministrator60minGraduate in reply to Cmoi
I can see that, and I have to admit, with one exception, my 15 minute runs always begin going down the hill to the village!
As you know I love going uphill, although I think my steep bits are a lot less than yours, and for me also, the lovely longer runs which i am so eager to get back to, do encompass them... I am lucky, in that there a few really interesting and pretty routes which take me home and back in a short time. I think I must be speeding up a tad too, because the 14 minute one yesterday, took me further than I thought it would to the turn-around point!
I do like doing 15 min hill runs, but I think it’s rather because they are intense little packages and are on a route which I just adore, going up and back down a hill behind our house.
But they are not long enough in winter to support 15 min continued running, as they have a few oceans of mud beyond the hill.
Another Strava check: I've done two 15-minute runs. The first, when I was much fitter, was 2.56m km with 56m elevation gain. The second was the aforementioned icy run, 1.69 km with 41m elevation gain.
My boring default easy road run is also "down to the village and back." Takes maybe 25-26 minutes for roughly 3.7k and upwards of 93m elevation gain.
Down to the village and back sounds good. (In my case, I’ll have to move out of the center of the village first, though 🤣🤣. Maybe I can head out of the village and then back down to it…. Huh 🤔 maybe I will try out my hill-sprint-run-hill for that purpose, as I like the idea of running back down into the village!) 👍🏽🙏
Do you have a dedicated short run route? Or do you resort to running on road surfaces? Just wondering what my strategy could be to maximise short run enjoyment.
(I might have to plan a specific short run route)
OldflossAdministrator60minGraduate in reply to CBDB
Different ones...down the hill start and then I can head straight up the lane to the fields, and there is another that takes me along by a stream that runs through the village,, through a small estate and a hidden footpath behind all the gardens and then back again in a loop ...
There is one uphill that is pavement for a short while but then I can turn onto a huge green space... Winter runs can be on pavements because, I am nosy and love to see all the different decorations before Winterval and in Spring there is much merit in peering into the gardens and seeing the different lay outs, planting and guessing at the character of the gardener Some runs too, on the walk home if I do not do a loop wuill give photo opportunities for my paintings.
I think it helps because I am retired, we do wake early, my little pre run warm up can be done and and I can be out and about before the bustle of life begins and be back in time to face a hectic day feeling recharged and refreshed..
The views may not be what folk think of as amazing, but in the different seasons... well I love them.
An idea for a painting..
OldflossAdministrator60minGraduate in reply to CBDB
I’ve done them as part of a plan, and also randomly…for example when I hadn’t run for a week or two, feeling a bit rough, and just needed to get out there.
There and back runs…great on a Sunday from my house when my #BreakfastOfChampionsm is waiting…but fiddly to do the turnaround at 7.5 minutes 😂
Otherwise, I have a choice of 2 scenic circuits…one is my old C25k route (2 mile river walk), the other is around the boating lake. For these I would walk for 5 minutes, run for 15, then continue the walk to the end of the circuit.
So…I don’t mind them…but my go-to ‘short’ run would preferably be 20 minutes. ☺️
that’s it!!! I need to introduce hubby to the power of #BreakfastOfChampions!! If I could convince hubby making these, I bet 15 min runs would suddenly become so much more attractive! 🤣🤣
I think that the main purpose of the NRC15 minute run is to give an overview of the runs in the week to come. I don’t limit myself to 15 minutes, so I have a relaxing run for a time of my choosing and at the end of it I know what I am letting myself in for. Works for me. 🙂
I hadn’t realised that NRC used these short runs to chat about the plan for the next week. That can also be a strategy: “go for a run to have a quick think about your plan for next week”
I learned from my mistake! I was fitting in the short run “as and when”. When I finally ran the short run, I picked up all sorts of stuff I should have been doing on the earlier runs in that week; 🙄
I have put that right now. Only took me 3 weeks to work it out 🙂
I'm continuing my RED streak for as long as I can. A short run like that is like a rest day now.
Just enough to get the blood pumping, the metabolism elevated and to work the knots out of the leg muscles, but not enough to tire me out or put too much strain on the joints.
Often it's out of necessity (lack of time) or a need to cut back on the intensity (as I've been doing the last three days).
Hi CBDB I’ve set myself a challenge to run every day and so far I’ve managed it since 1st January. I don’t particularly like shorter runs as I find I don’t get into my running/breathing rhythm until I’m at least 1km into my run. However, the shorter runs on the NRC app have been a real help in motivating me to carry on and finish!
I’ve worked out routes to local shops and landmarks which cover all the times (2 mins, 3 mins etc.) given on NRC.
The people in the local shop are quite used to seeing me come in huffing and puffing when things haven’t gone so well and ask how I’m getting on. The local fish & chip shop is also within range of a short run if I fancy a treat!
For me, they’re a massive achievement and having Coach Bennet tell me they’re a valid run has kept me running as I have been unable to move past twenty minutesish,( which I’ve come to accept is more mind issue) but, nevertheless, is there. I still try and do every other day and use NRC guided runs to keep me going. Sometimes 15 minutes is all I can do and I have to believe, although it’s short for some, in the words of CB ‘it’s still a run’ . I do get the ‘runners high’ and take pride in completing it.
We’re all different so maybe this isn’t one that you will take to but, it’s there if you need ir 😊. Good luck with your 10k aim - im in awe of the thought of it!
That is so interesting! And definitely, any run is a run! I also benefitted so immensely from the confidence given to me by the C25k podcast, NRC and our community here. And I like the fact that NRC has 7 min runs! 😃😄
My early running concerns were about my speed and being to confidently call myself a runner whilst I was (still am) one of the slowest jogglers around (I am the Queen of Slow🤣👑👸🦥🐌) . That was really important for my motivation.
So the short runs might actually provide that confidence as well, in a kind of different manner.
The shortest run I do is 20 minutes or a 3K which is a little longer, sometimes to run exactly 20 minutes I do R3 of week 5 of C25K with Laura, I usually run those 3Ks as a maintenance run when I don't go to parkrun on a Saturday.
Update CBDB, I am not at parkrun this morning, instead I ran what I call a 3K maintenance run around a 1K route near to where I live, it's around a pond, my run lasted just over 21 minutes in a time of 21:04, part of the route goes over a boardwalk on the pond, sometimes there are swans there but none today although I did see a man fishing as there are some fish in that pond
I run a "fast" mile once a week, and I really enjoy it. It's usually a five min walking warm up then the mile run at a pace I can only sustain for that long.
It takes at least 15-20minutes for me to get into the groove and start enjoying my run. So anything shorter than 40 minutes doesn't appeal to me. I really only run to get an easy dose of outdoor moderate exercise though. I'm not in training for anything, if it was part of a plan I wanted to follow, maybe I'd do it anyway.
Since completing C25K, I can’t remember if I’ve ever intentionally run for just 15 mins. Like others have said, it seems a faff to go through all the preparation for a short run. However, I have been plagued by various injuries over the last year or so and have decided to follow a NRC training program. This includes a 15 min recovery run. I ignored it for the first week as it didn’t fit with my schedule but I’m planning to run it tomorrow with the addition of 1 mile warm-up & cool-down walks either end. Hopefully I’ll get to like it as I can see the benefit of a run that you can fit in when you’re short on time 🤞🏽
Apart from C25K I’ve never done anything less than 30 mins to be honest. However, I’ve had plenty of runs when I’ve so wanted it to be over after 15 minutes 🤣.
I'd not normally do them, but they are decent when coming back from a long term injury etc. I broke my ribs back in early December and the shorter timed runs on NRC have just been perfect for helping me ease back to some sort of routine
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W2R2 - Second run with Sam - 5+15+1+15+1+15+5 does not equal 61
How do I do 5k under 30 mins? 
JuJu's Magic -- really 15 min & order?
