Hi just completed first run of week 7 and seeking some advice how to procede
i completed the 25 mins then continued through the 5 min walk at end
do i try and speed up for the next run and stick to 25 mins or run the 30 mins and try and speed up
according to "my tracks" i ran 4.28 km so well chuffed
i must admit the last wee section is a welcome downhill after a huffin n puffin hilly mid section
i started C25K about 2 years ago and got as far as week 6 i think before excuses and knee surgery got in the way so am determined NOT to undo all my hard work to get this far am really enjoying it
thought and ecouragement welcome xx
Written by
magicdragon
Graduate
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Well done! to complete 4.28Km in 25 minutes, That is awesome! I would keep following the C25K plan, brisk walk for 5 min, then 25 min run then 5min brisk walk to slow down.
I just did my second run this morning and I found it easier to the first one that means muscles will get used to it eventually.
I am doing the last 60 seconds with high like sprinting, to help me make myself ready for the next week run.
thank you for your encouragement the milage was for the 30 mins but am confident when i get to week 9 i would of upped the anti to reach the 5k i would love to achieve that
like previous reply i shall stick to the plan and my next one will be 25 mins thank you for replying and well done too on getting this far
Probably the main thing is to meet that target (which you're doing, either way).
What I do (week 5) is to run "outbound". I don't do a circuit. I run as far away from my starting point as I can, and then at the end I walk back. (I do think the cool down walk is a good idea, however you fit it in).
What I do beyond that variation on the plan depends on how things go on the day. For example, yesterday I redid the 5 + 5 + 5, and tried to push the speed and effort up a bit. By the last running phase, at the end of this I had to bring my speed down to probably lower than walking speed to finish still in a running gait, and as soon as Laura said "Well Done!" I stopped, and did my wheezing at walking pace.
On other days, I find I've kept more than I needed back, and I'll do what you're doing, and use the cool down walk music for more running. I reckon it's the right thing to do. The idea is to run the legs down to "empty" or thereabouts, but to make dead sure that all the runs are full runs, so the only way to empty the tank if you didn't get the last bit of energy out of those legs in the timed runs is to use the cool down to finish the job.
OK, so what strategy do I think you should use? Maybe start out at the usual pace, just to get the bearings running smoothly. Then if you feel brave, start to put pressure on yourself, and slowly rack it up to just a bit above normal. See if you can survive the entire run like that. If you can't, back off quite a lot, regain your breath at running pace, and then see how you go from there. (And if necessary, finish at a shuffle, but still running).
I think the trick we're meant to learn during the second half of the programme is that you don't always need to walk to get your breath back. A slower run can do the same thing for you. Pushing against your limits a bit like this would then give you some practice in the "slow run recovery" technique.
However, bear in mind that this comes from someone who's done only a 25 minute run (with the walk time factored in), not the 30 minute runs you're already doing...
Hey ... If you're running for a full 30 minutes, you do realise that you've actually already graduated? (You're a recent graduate who is now using c25k to push on to the next level. Congratulations.)
And think about maybe running "away" and not in a circuit, too. That way you get a nice, long cool down walk as an added bonus.
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whist it is great that you managed to run beyond stick with the program , it has served you well so far 
Week 7!!
Stuck on Week 7
Week 7 - done and dusted :)
Week 7 Completed
Week 9 run 2 ✅ 
