After completing c25k in June I was starting to get a bit bored with trying to get my 5k time down to below 30 mins (this still eludes me) and had started to lose the motivation to keep up my regular runs.
In August a colleague said to me "if you can do 5k you can definitely do 10k" which I laughed at, thinking it was a joke, but it wasn't, and something about the challenge of tackling a 10k appealed to me.
So I have been gradually increasing my weekend run by 10 mins every other week and have been really surprised and pleased how relatively easily the extra kilometers have added on. Its been a hard slog, but having a goal has definitely helped me get out on my runs in the mornings.
I've entered a "Movember" 10k in a couple of weeks time, so now I just have to get myself a mustache!!
Just wanted to encourage any post c25k-ers out there who are losing motivation : if you are starting to flag, try looking for a different goal to keep you motivated. After all the effort to get off the sofa in the first place, it's vital to keep going!
Written by
Wheatls
Graduate
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I think it's good not to get over obsessive about one goal. I felt as if I made very little progress for the first year after graduating - I did a few 10k ish races in that time but not quickly. I twice tried to train for an HM and had to give up due to injury each time. This summer I seemed to have reached a turning point at last and the longer runs where I pushed myself a bit more have helped me improve my 5k time (from 34:35 at our first parkrun in February to a PB of 29:11). I think it is healthier to re-evaluate your goals than it is to get frustrated and worn out aiming for one elusive target. 10k is a good distance to aim for as the training doesn't take over your life but it still gives a nice sense of achievement.
I know exactly what you mean. I have been doing 5 k on the treadmill for a year now. In the last month I gave up drinking and started to do 5k then walk for five minutes then do another 1-2k. My boss said to me on Tuesday "you could do 10k you know if you can do 5, because the challenge will be mental not physical" I dismissed it as madness. By yesterday the thought had taken hold so I got on the treadmill and just went for it. I did 10k for the first time in my life (at 46 years old and never ran until last year) I did it in 59:42. To say I am chuffed is an understatement!
Wow 10 k fantastic. You will look dashing in your moustache for your movember run. Hehe. I have just graduated so its interesting to hear two different posts on here that say if you can do 5k you can do 10k. I am thinking of upping my time at 2 mins a week. But I like the idea of a larger time but every two weeks. Good luck for your race.
Congrats! I was like you, tried to do 5K under 30 minutes for a while, then one day I just ran 10K no plan whatsoever and was thrilled to know that I can do it. That was after a fellow runner here commented that if you can do 5K, you can do 10K! Then after a while another felloe runner commented that if I do 2 fast 5K a week and try to do 1 not so fast 10K it will speed me up, and it did! After few weeks after my doing it, I ran 5K under 30 minutes. I did my Park Run yesterday, again un planned (as the plan was to run 10K but it was raining so did not want to get wet and have a head cold!) and completed in 30 minutes 4 seconds. Good luck to you!
Well done. I too managed to get up to 10k after graduation but lost my way a bit during the summer - I was still running regularly but really struggled to maintain speed or distance partly because of the heat, but mainly due to the fact I had no real goal.
I am now approaching my running with a two pronged attack: one 5k per week at a steady but relatively fast pace, one interval run per week, very gradually increasing my sprints (which I hate but am really feeling the benefits of) and one comfortably paced longer run increasing by 5 mins per week. In the short term I aim to reduce my 5k time plus get back up to 10k distances and beyond. In the New Year, depending how this goes, I shall make a decision as to whether to register for the Sheffield Half marathon in April.
Well done you... It does really make a difference to have a goal, and so important too. As the runs get longer you realise it's more about the mind than the body!! Have fun with that tash!!!
Well done and good idea to have other goals. I like you could never better my 5K time of 31m 26s. So the other day i thought forget that and extend to 10K so my first extension this week was to run 6.3K that just happened to be the distance when i got back to my road. I like the idea others have suggested of two 5K runs and then an extended run to reach the 10K goal i will try that and see if i can get to 10K by Christmas
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