Oh dear, I have accidently entered a 10K race...

[YJB1]

Well, not exactly accidently but it was a moment of madness! I am doing W6R3 this weekend and the 10K isn't until 8th June so there is plenty of time. I really need targets to keep me going so thought I should have my next goal in sight. It's at Kingston Lacy in Wimborne in Dorset and I am very excited!

[turnturtle Graduate]

I did the same thing last month. I entered the Leeds 10K in July. It seemed a good idea at the time (new Year's Eve after several 'refreshments') but as my longest run so far is only 6K I am beginning to wonder. I also put my predicted time down as 90 minutes. I think I need a personal trainer....

[YJB1 Graduate]

You have loads of time turnturtle, sounds like you are ahead of me, I haven't managed 5K yet! I have found a Run/Walk schedule on the WalkJogRun website that takes you from running for 30 minutes to a 10K in 10 weeks. I finish C25K in the middle of March and start the 10K schedule at the end of March to finish it on 8th June. It's fairly gentle, mostly running but with walk breaks so you can increase the mileage safely.

[notbad Graduate]

You've both got loads of time to build gradually, I'm in for one in July too, taking it nice and easy, little bit more on one run each week.

[turnturtle Graduate in reply to notbad]

Which one are you doing notbad? I've entered Leeds, which I'm told is flat. I did run a bit further yesterday but keep concentrating on my speed (which is slow) and am usually puce-faced and breathing very loudly by the time I reach 5K which draws concerned looks from passers by. Maybe I should slow down even more if I want to run further. But it will take so long!

[notbad Graduate in reply to turnturtle]

The Great North 10k (I really would like to do the hm but this is more achievable for me). I have run 10k before but not for a long time, it's good idea to take your speed down a notch on your distance run, you can still work on speed on your shorter runs - mix up your training. What I did notice when I was running longer distances is that I got a bit faster on 5ks, so you may well surprise yourself. I did find what Nerdio said about extra kms not being so hard after 6k true, in fact I used to go into a trance like state (broken only by crossing roads!). Keep us posted about your 10k progress.

[Nerdio Graduate]

'notbad' is right. Build up slowly by adding a little (10% say) to one run each week.

You might surprise yourself as you push through 6K, as the kilometres don't seem so hard then. Resist the temptation to push up the distance too much each week. My enthusiasm ran away with me, and I pushed form 6 to 8 k in something like 7 runs, then suffered. Back down to 6's now and building up again.

Good luck.