10K?

[Maturelady]

A lot of people have said to me about going on to do 10k but at this moment in time I am still desperate for the end of 30 minutes so cannot imagine running any more, but then I take myself back to wk1 and think how much I have come on. Is the moving on as gradual as the weeks in c25k?

[GettingFitter Graduate]

Depends how you do it and what plan you follow. I did the Sami B210K which took 5 weeks and was pretty brutal at times but it did get me there and I have managed to keep going despite injury. You just need to look back to week 1 to see how much you have accomplished. There is no rule that you have to do 10k. Some people try to get better at 5k/30 mins it really is up to you.

[Rob_and_his_westie Graduate]

Is suspect that one day you'll go out and be feeling really good and just decide to go on to 5.5 or 6k and you just will. It's not always planned. Just see how it goes.

[AllieG Graduate]

It really depends on what you feel you want to get out of it all. It's a gradual process, I still struggle with my shins and knees but can easily cope with 5k now (although it still takes longer than 30 mins but it really doesn't matter). I went out yesterday with no watch or phone around an unfamiliar park and got all old fashioned when I got home with some string, a ruler and a map. Turns out I'd run for about 7.5k. Felt great. Not so good this morning, my shins are really hurting. My own fault and I won't run now until Wednesday because I know it takes them 4 days to recover properly. Doh.

The point is, you will learn what your limits are and to listen to your body's signals. A general rule of thumb is to increase distance by no more than 10% a week or a fortnight if it's too much. Not 50% all at once!

It's easy to assume that now we are runners, we can just take off and run for as long as we'd like, as if we're going for a lovely ramble on a Summers day. I'd love to be able to, wouldn't it be great! Every now and then I have to remind myself that yes, I am a runner and that's brilliant. But- I've only been a runner for 4 months so I'm still a beginner. So 10% of 5k is only 500 metres and that's what I should be increasing by.

My plan now? Parkrun every Saturday morning, a short run on Sunday evening before dinner of a couple of miles and then on Wednesday I will increase my distance weekly by the prescribed 10% and see how it goes.

Go at your own pace and you'll be fine. Happy running

[Steve_L Graduate]

Have a play with the pace you run at. I've found that there's a magic pace I can find that's relaxed and easy (try going slow) and that I can maintain. First time I did that I was trying to get to 8K according to a training plan (previous furthest had been 5.6K) and I found I could just keep going. I ran 10k that day (just over a week after graduating). Don't have any expectations or targets, just listen to your body and enjoy your running.

[old_git Graduate in reply to Steve_L]

Hi Mature Lady. I found it hard to step up after graduation, but like Steve, I plan one longer run a week. I step up the distance by about 10 % on that day. I had to force myself to go slowly, but found it relatively easy to increase distance and enjoy it.

I typically run about 1 min/ km slower.

I am now up to about 13 Km on my long run day and with 4 weeks to my first 10K race, hope to be up to about 17.5 Km before the race to give myself plenty of confidence and (maybe) a bit more speed.

Good luck

[Maturelady Graduate in reply to old_git]

Thanks and good luck to you with your race. I think it is hard because we're not listening to Laura telling us what to do.

[mfamilias Graduate]

Your post reassured me no end - I can't imagine setting myself up for a 10km challenge when I've finished, but I know I'll need some kind of challenge to meet if I want to keep it up. Not finished yet, but my plan is to enjoy three 5K runs a week remembering my week one beginnings. I'll see if my time improves, and maybe if one day I want to do more I'll try a new distance program. Just enjoy having got so far, and go with the flow. You'll know when you're ready to set yourself a new distance challenge!

[Hidden]

like mfamilias im going to get comfortable running a 5k 3/4 times a week, once I feel like I've conquered that I'm going to up the distance to 10k with the same mentality as the C25k plan so if I feel like I need to repeat a few weeks in the programme so be it, just taking it nice and slow, no pressure I think you've got to love getting out and doing the running and what ever we do it's much much more than all the people sitting on the couch! 😘 🏃 👍 🌳

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

It's not obligatory to increase to 10k! Why not get comfortable doing what you are? You'll know if and when you want to step it up some more.

[runningnearbeirut Graduate]

The most important thing is for you to get out and run 2 or 3 times a week and to enjoy it. At some point you might find you miss the challenge of aiming to work towards something, so you might want to increase the time/distance you run. But you could just consolidate running for 30 minutes and then have a go at Laura's C25K+ podcasts.

I think the step up from 5k to 10k is easier than the journey from the couch to 30 minutes - perhaps because you're "just" improving your stamina rather than what most of us do in C25K which is to try to get some level of fitness. But there's no rule to say you have to aim for 10km.

[misswobble Graduate]

No pressure to do anything. You progress as you like, in your own time and at your own pace. Some folks just like to run one run a week, a long slow one on a Sunday for example and that's fine if that's what you want to do. Just keep running!

Don't be fearful of 10! It's the bees knees. My fave distance and I run quite a few of em. A leisurely 10 k, music on, picturesque route, nowt finer

I got there using C25k + podcasts, which I thoroughly did to death before moving on to Bridge to 10 k with Sami Murphy podcasts. I still use these everytime I head out.

[Curlygurly2 Graduate]

It depends where you want to go with your running. Are you a competitive type who wants to run races, or someone who runs for pleasure, or somewhere in between the two? I think we all felt like that at the end of the programme, it's really up to you where you take it. For me, I've found every time I've increased my distance, the shorter runs feel easier if that makes any sense.