Progressing?

[anniewebb]

I'm about to start week 7 .

I was wondering how I'm going to speed up. I'm managing it all at a snail's pace. Should I start again at week one going a bit faster? Or is Laura going to help me do that? I'm

[dagshar Graduate]

I wouldn't worry about speeding up for now. Just work your way through the programme and once you can run for 30 minutes just increasing your running time gradually. Most likely your pace will increase eventually all by itself. For now just take it steady and enjoy what you do.

[MarkyD Graduate]

Don't worry about pace just yet. The objective of C25K is to run three times a week for 30 minutes.

Once you can confidently go out for a thirty minute run, and know that you'll make it without getting exhausted, only then should you think about pace.

Mx

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Your post seems to have been cut off Annie, but I will respond to your first part.

Don't worry about being too slow. Jog at a pace that you can comfortably maintain for the duration of the run. There is no need to compare your speed with anyone elses. By the end of the programme you will be moving (even if it is a snail's pace) for 30 minutes continuously and your stamina will be greatly improved over your starting situation.

Once you graduate you can decide what your next aim will be. Some people do indeed redo the whole training plan, substituting a very slow jog for the walk intervals and a faster pace for the runs. There is another set of podcasts featuring Laura, for post grad running, one of which concentrates on speed. The beauty of this plan is that you are in control, but it is generally better to keep moving on if you manage to finish each workout and you will soon be in sight of graduation.

Keep it up.

[Kdollfraser Graduate]

I would chug on - once you get to the end of the programme decide then if you want to slowly increase your speed - I found this easier to do on the treadmill then when I got my rhythm I moved outdoors. X

[ridingstar Graduate]

You are going about it the right way, run at a speed that suits you and allows you to finish the allocated time. Almost no one is running 5k at the end, that comes in the following weeks and speed comes gradually. You will hardly notice yourself speeding up as your fitness improves ! I didn't realise I was getting faster until I tried park runs !!

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

I am doing week 8, run 2 on Wednesday. I am still reasonably slow, maybe picked it up a little but the programme is designed for you to run for the set time and not for fast running. If you push yourself hard to run fast, you may not be able to do the longer runs or end up with injury. I knew I wouldn't be able to run 5K by week 9 in 30 minutes so I just ran for the distance to see how long it would take me (43 mins). Now I have it out of my system, going to relax and finish the programme. After that, I can work on building distance to 5K and last I will think about speed. Julie

[dottiemay Graduate]

Yep, just keep doing what you're doing. Speed is irrelevant. It may come naturally as you progress (and you are progressing!) and of course it won't hurt to try the odd burst if you feel you can towards the end of a run, but once you've completed the programme, if you want to work on speed, that's the time to do it.