My C25k to 16K plan

[Bazza1234]

Having now finished the C25K programme - and run 5K in 35 minutes ONCE!! -- I have just finished Week 1 of my 16K plan. Basically this plan has 2x30 minute days where you can do almost anything so long as it is running - and a long slow run day which increases each week by 1 Klm until it gets to 18klm (gasp!!)

This week I used the 2x30 minute days to mop up my 5K runs and this morning I did 6Ks at approx 8 mins per K using a Run/walk ratio of 2/1.5 minutes and finished it feeling quite good. The big question is - can I maintain this pace up to 16k's??? I am also deliberately using a hilly course for this long run training.

I am intending to use one of the 30 minute days to run at Parkrun - and either decrease my time for the 5K's or run at the same pace but slowly do it easier. I think the second option is the one I will aim for - as the second undoubted leads to inevitable injury. To do this I will use the second 30 minute day ( probably extended out to 45 mins) for the Stepping Stone, Speed and Stamina podcasts plus bits of the C210K programme. The trouble is with the C210K programme is that it aims for people to finally run 10 K non-stop and that will not be me !!

[carole01 Graduate]

Congratulations Bazza!! You must be chuffed and rightly so. I really believe you will run 10 k non stop as I thought exactly the same as you at this point. Yes I was a sprinter at school but would always get a stitch with any long distances and feared it for years. Starting to this programme in poor health was very difficult but felt the benefits very quickly (of course Dryathalon helped too!). I ran around 14k nonstop on Saturday - my watch only recorded 13 but it didn't pick up my GPS until after 10 minutes of running. Sounds like you have a good plan although I would have been kinder on myself to pick a flat route for the plan but admire you for doing a hilly one. Just wanted to say good luck with the rest of your journey. `The fun starts here

[turnturtle Graduate]

Is this your own personal plan Bazza or is it one anyone can access? I am now trying the Galloway run/walk/run method over longer distances than 5K and find it suits me, so your plan sounds appealing.

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

Firstly -- did you know that Disney organise and conduct all kinds of half and full Marathons?? I didn't. See here rundisney.com/ Lots of races that have associated training plans from Jeff Galloway ( who has an arrangement with Disney) See here rundisney.com/training/runn... . Each plan is for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced runners. I will be using this 10 mile/16K training plan -- suitable for those who wish "to finish in the upright position" as1.wdpromedia.com/media/ru... I have fiddled with it a bit to suit me - his main emphasis is on slow long runs leading up to a race. His programmes always include running distances which exceed the race distance - whereas many don't. He argues that, if you have never done and exceeded the full distance you are more likely to "bonk" in the race.

[Rob_and_his_westie Graduate]

Well done Bazza!

Just got to 16k (so 10 miles) myself. I didn't follow an official programme, it was more a gradual pushing of the envelope. I can run under or about 29 mins for 5k consistently now, but it took a long time to get there. That's about 5:50 per km. I've found that for 10k, having adjusted my pace, I can run at about 6:45 per km (on average!) and I finish well and recover reasonably quickly. For my longer runs - and there's only been 3 so far - I'm slightly slower again at 6:55 per km. In each case, the slower pace was a conscious decisions from the outset. In my experience - and I haven't had that much - going faster over 5k is a lot harder than going a little further.

I've said it before, but much of the challenge is mental. For me, having found that I could actually keep running for 10k gave me the confidence to try 11k, then 13.5k and, last Friday, 16.1k. Confidence is everything for me, and there's a very obvious next target..... For whIch I started my prep just this morning.

[misswobble Graduate]

You can do it Bazza! I am working towards it now, at 56 and having never run in my overweight life. I did the 5 weeks worth of Sami Murphy Bridge to 10 k podcasts first which I downloaded free from here. They have walking breaks in them, so you get time to catch your breath

I have entered a 10 mile race having not done a Parkrun, or any race at all thus far. My 5 k runs are not under 30 minutes yet but maybe one day. I am not about speed though. I am tortoise rather than a hare but I don't care as long as I get round. I thought a 10 mile was a good one to go for having run 10 km with the help of the Sami M podcasts. I thought I'd never manage those but I did. No-one more amazed than me Bazza

Someone suggested here that I download the Bupa 10 mile training sheet. I did and am on week 3 of it.

Please don't doubt yourself Baz. Oh by the way (sorry to hijack your thread) but I entered the race as a C25k club member and got a discount for being a club runner. Even better!

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

Well - who knows??? I would never have thought that I could ever run 5K non-stop - and now I have done it ONCE!! Who knows whether i could run for 10K's non-stop - but I would be concerned about injury happening with that challenge ( I am 67!!) But anyway, I have signed up for this 14 K race in August- and I am intending to do it with Run/Walk -- but I don't have much idea at this time what to do afterwards if and when this goal is achieved. I cant really see me doing a "marathon" -- at my speeds it would take 6 hours!!!! to complete. I did read of a winning marathoner (sub 2hours) being interviewed - the interviewer said that he must have had a really tough time doing it in 2 hours . "NO" said the winner "The really tough ones are those who do it in 5-6 hours.-- I don't know how they do it!!!"

[misswobble Graduate]

I can't imagine doing the relentless slog of training for marathons. If I can keep fit running 3 or 4 times a week that will suit me fine. I just want this 16 k out of the way to prove to myself that I can run a bit beyond 10 k, which I've already done a few times

Good luck with your training Bazza!