How do you know when you have run 5K? How to m... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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How do you know when you have run 5K? How to measure the distance?

nettyk profile image
11 Replies

I am confused how you will actually know when you can run 5K.

Week 9 is a 30 minute run which is supposed to be 5K, but what if you can run for 30 minutes but only achieve a distance of say 4K.

I don't have a sat-nav thing or a fancy gps watch, so does anyone have any ideas how to measure a run?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions :-)

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nettyk profile image
nettyk
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11 Replies
darjeeling profile image
darjeeling

I'm still new, but I haven't read anywhere about prohibiting treadmills so if you're on one, then the displays have got you covered. peerdiagnosis.com/swollen-k... Maybe try to do a run on a treadmill and gauge from there how much you would run in a "real" park scenario. Sorry, I don't have a GPS or any fancy device either (would appreciate some suggestions though!) but that's how I would do it.

nomoresloth profile image
nomoreslothGraduate

I don't have a GPS watch (too expensive and I'm still only running 5km (only from time to time 6 or 7km)) but map my runs on different pages afterwards.

The most accurate seems to be geodistance.com/ (a lot of clicking though).

Another good page is gb.mapometer.com/ but its less accurate (in my opinion).

A good page to calculate you pace per km is this one: coolrunning.com/engine/4/4_...

lizziebeth57 profile image
lizziebeth57Graduate

Do a seach for 'map my run' and plot your run then it gives you a distance. I don't know exactly how accurate it is because I have only tried it once. Worth a go though and it's free.

Beek profile image
BeekGraduate

Do you have t'internet? If you go to Googlemaps there is a tool for measuring your run. I think though that you need to register with gmail (?) because I cannot do it without signing in to gmail, which I use for other reasons.

May be worth a look for you.

running_joke profile image
running_jokeGraduate in reply to Beek

I don’t have any fancy gadgets either, so I while on C25K I worked out how far I’d run each time by measuring my route using Google maps. (I do it without signing in to a Google account btw) Put in the postcode or name of the road you start in, click ‘add destination’ and keep adding the names of the roads on your route - finishing back at your start point if it’s a circular route - then click ‘get directions’. (You can subsequently adjust the exact position of the pins along the roads as necessary to mark your route accurately). It seems to default to miles, so under ‘options’, you’ll need to change it to Km.

After graduating, I worked out several routes using this method that are exactly 5K. I just run one of these each time, and see what time I can do it in (I take a stopwatch with me!) so I can see if I’m making progress, rather than just running for 30 mins and not knowing how far I have run.

nomoresloth profile image
nomoreslothGraduate

Oh and don't worry if you don't cover 5k in Week 9. Many of us can't do it. The program should better be called: "Couch to 30 minutes" but this is not as catchy as "Couch to 5k". I still need more than 30 minutes for a 5k and I graduated in June.

crox profile image
croxGraduate

You could always do a parkrun, if you finish in 30 mins you know you're doing about 5km :-)

birdistheword profile image
birdisthewordGraduate

I use map my walk and you can use it in run setting and adjust the distance to km, it works for me as a guide more than anything and after the run I can look and see the route I've done and how far and be even more pleased!

alcopop profile image
alcopopGraduate

Do you drive? Drive the car 5k along a route you can run. Then see how you do.

Kimmiijay profile image
KimmiijayGraduate

I draw mine onto walkjogrun.net to get the distance, also it has other people's routes in so sometimes I steal theirs when I am feeling lazy/fancy a change.

Sarah-A profile image
Sarah-AGraduate

I used to log on my PC to myrunningmap (I think) and I know my local area, so it is just a case of clicking on the roads where you ran. It has a satelite view too - so if you off-road it on bridleways etc, you can still map them. The site will also track in miles too.

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