Sooooo slooooooow - wondering if I'll look in the mirror and see a tortoise look back at me :(

[sofaqueen]

I am now on W8R1 and today I timed myself using a phone app and was pretty horrified to see that it takes me 8 minutes to run 1km - that's barely faster than walking. Is speed something that does eventually come in time and will it ever be possible to do 5K in 30 minutes?

[Hidden]

You think that's slow? I'm currently doing 9.5 min/km! I'm hoping to increase my speed over my last 6 runs the first of which is on Friday

[GoogleMe Graduate]

This is going to sound a bit Four Yorkshiremen but I am well over a year post graduation and 9.5m/k is a fast run for me. I am always pleased when I am under 10 (admittedly the terrain doesn't always help with speed) I think there are a few of us who are not anticipating 5k in 30 minutes in their lifetimes, even if we can run for a lot longer than 30 minutes.

Whatever keeps getting you out there really.

[crox Graduate]

I know I bang on about it, but do a parkrun, you'll be amazed how much it'll help you improve. They're friendly, as competitive as you let it be and most importantly friendly and non-judgemental. My 6 year old took 5 mins off his time for the same course, just because there was someone in front of him

[lizfish]

Everyone is different. 8 isn't as bad as you think. And it's not my walking pace! Take a tip from someone famous on these forums (greenlegs) "slow and steady" if that's the speed your comfortable with, then stick with it. You can have a go at speeding up later if you want. I think sone people are not built for super-speed , but perhaps endurance is your thing. Even if it isn't, the main thing is to enjoy yourself and keeping going. Whatever the speed. No one gets disqualified around here.

[ktaylor217 Graduate]

Try not to worry about speed! Just running is the main thing and slow and steady really does win through in the end when you are first building up your fitness. Once you can run for 5k comfortably then you could start to work on speed if you really want to but until then just try not to worry about it!

[Plinth Graduate]

I'm

Running that speed too. It's fine!

[sofaqueen Graduate]

Thanks to everyone for your advice and comments - it's really good to hear that others are the same and that it's not something I should be worrying about too much at this stage. I'll stick with it and hopefully speed may come in time.