I'm curious what everybody feels has been their toughest leap in distance/time? Was it couch to 5k or the transition to 10k? Or to an ever bigger distance?!
Since graduating I've had a knee issue then a lingering cold so I've not taken the leap to longer runs yet. I've done a few of the follow on runs from the app and then more recently I've just been doing 30m runs to consolidate a bit more. I'll keep on with these for a week or so then I want to move to the 60min plan and after that push further to 10k. I'm only likely to have done about 7.5k in 60 mins max if I'm lucky if I can keep my usual pace, which seems optimistic!
As it stands I'm still finding the 30m hard. I think often it's fatigue rather than actual fitness issues plus lingering self doubt and a screaming voice saying not to bother sometimes! So seeing as I feel the fitness is there I actually don't think I'm too bad. However I'm feeling as if the next push to 60m is going to be a huge struggle to be honest. Perhaps the heat is also making me feel that way! It's hard not to sometimes feel as if I should naturally be going quicker/further already!
So which stage did everyone else find to the the hardest? I'm curious!
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Ivegottheruns
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The heat doesn't help us runners Ive gotthruns, better to run first thing in the morning, most runners find most of the longer leaps difficult, especially from the 8 minute run of run 2 of week 5 to the 20 minutes run of the same week.After I graduated from C25K I gradually worked my running up to 10K, I didn't find that too hard, however, going further than 10K I found it harder, especially 16K but have managed to run about 6/16K or ten mile runs, take all your runs slow and steady and who knows what distance you will be able to achieve.
For me the start of C25K was harder by far than any other transition. By the time I progressed from 30 minutes to 5K to longer runs and further distances I had the confidence that if I could do week 1 I could do anything!
It's been so hot lately that I have struggled too. The only way I could run even 3k was by constantly stopping for walks until I felt human again. Then I did the Nike Running Club 'Hot Run' which sort of gave me permission to really slow down.
I thought I'd been going slow until I did it but now I'm really really slow! By making slowness my actual goal (coupled with low heart rate) I've been enabled to not only run without feeling like death warmed up but also to increase my distance.
Apparently there is far greater strain on the body when you run in the heat than when it's cooler. I am hoping that by the time the heatwave passes I'll be able to run further and maybe even a little faster (though that's not really something I pursue) for the same effort. None of us wants heatstroke so be kind to yourself, take water with you and don't run in the heat of the day.
Just set yourself achievable, easy goals that you know you can do. Short slow runs will maintain your condition until the weather becomes your friend. That's the time to think about pushing yourself. Don't try and force the process, if you're not enjoying yourself you may decide it's just not worth it. Let's face it, this is the UK, our natural default weather is grey and chilly so we won't have to wait for too long 😂
Good luck and looking forward to hearing how you get on.
I run far far less when it’s hot; I don’t enjoy it, so I either don’t bother or I go to the air conditioned gym.
My biggest achievement was my first 5k for sure. I’ve never been close to running it in 30 minutes (33 something is my PB), and the more I run, the less inclined I feel to run fast. I enjoy running too much to ruin it (for me!)
I’ve since run as far as HM distance several times, building up by degrees each time.
Definitely getting to 5k was toughest! Thankfully I learned a big lesson very soon after graduating. I did a little bit of consolidation after week 9, but quickly got frustrated with it as I didn’t seem to be making progress. I flipped over to Bridge to 10k and found the magic plan. It made a huge difference. Three runs per week….starting with a shorter quicker run, a medium run and then a longer run increasing in length week on week, is the pattern which took me and many others from 5k to 10k, 10k to 10 miles and 10 miles to HM. Well worth having a look. Building up pace and length separately in the course of the same week was a revelation….and yes, easier than C25k…you are a runner now 🙂
As everyone else has said, the heat is unlikely to help.
However what strikes me most about your post is the way you're describing increased running time and distance: "toughest leap... the next push to 60m is going to be a huge struggle."
While of course it might not be the same for you, I can guarantee that if I go out thinking that a run is going to be hard, difficult, or whatever negative adjective I choose, it will be. The more I can minimise the challenge mentally, the easier I find the run. So instead of worrying about adding on more, I break runs down in my head, and count down what I have left to do. For me this makes things much more achievable.
Fwiw the run I found most challenging psychologically beforehand was 20 miles / 32km during trail marathon training. I procrastinated like mad because even though I'd already done a 30k run I'd built 32k up to be a big scary thing. In practice, once I got out there and got on with it, it wasn't.
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Regular 5k runner looking to double that distance!!
Recovery aches and pains 
Boasting alert ⚠️ 10k PB totally smashed!!
3 years later
10K consolidation
