My first sub 40 5k

[afro-girl]

Hello. It's been a while since I've posted, though I have been lurking around seeing how everyone else is getting on. Since yesterday I hit a bit of a milestone I thought I would write an update about how things have been going for me.

After I graduated c25k I ran 3x30mins a week for a couple of months then moved up to running for 35mins using the c25k+ stamina podcast. I could cover around 3.5k in 30mins and 4.3k in 35mins.

At the beginning of February I started running 5ks. The first one I did took me around 45mins to do. Yesterday night however I ran 5.01k in 38.56 which I am pretty chuffed about. I'm so happy with how many minutes I am shaving off in less than a month. It's amazing how much you can improve in such a short amount of time.

I plan to continue running 5ks and try to get it down to 35mins by the end of next month. If I can manage this then I plan to start slowly increasing one of my runs by 0.5k a week until I hit 10k. And then who knows after that. The sky is the limit

[misswobble Graduate]

Well done! Congratulations on your progress. You could mix things up a bit so you're not concentrating solely on running 5ks quicker and quicker. You could try some longer runs, eg a 6 k then a week later 7k etc etc but only if you feel up to it. No need to push too much as you don't want to get hurt. Running faster and faster all the time will take it's toll, so do some slower runs as well. Make sure to do your warm up and cools downs and have days off between runs.

Running slowly up hills is also a good plan as it helps you build up your lung power

Take care and have fun !

[afro-girl Graduate in reply to misswobble]

thanks and thanks for the advice. I do still stick to the 5mins warm up and cool down walks and leave at least a day in between runs. I'm gonna leave it a few weeks before I attempt anything longer than 5k, don't think I'm quite ready to move on yet.

I just love the feeling of knowing that I can push myself faster and faster but I get your point about not pushing myself too far. Since I try to go running three times I week I'll think about allocating one of those days for slow 5k runs.

[Tomas Graduate]

Congratulations! That's a great improvement!!

Miss W makes a lot of sense. So I'll just echo her words

[afro-girl Graduate in reply to Tomas]

Thanks Tomas And I agree with you Miss W did make some good points.

[dexdog Graduate]

Wow that is definitely where I want to be. I graduated October time and my 5k is around 45 mins. However this weekend I did get it under -just. However I agree with Miss W mixing it up is best. The most enjoyable runs are my slower longer ones as there is no pressure and rather than concentrating on not dying I can enjoy my surroundings. At a slower pace I can happily do 7-8 ks and get as much satisfaction as a PB.

[afro-girl Graduate in reply to dexdog]

Hey dexdog, I graduated in October too I sense from all the feedback that I may be a bit too obsessed with my time, but it's just so easy to get caught up in beating your best. I'll think about choosing one of my weekly runs to focus more on going slow than pushing myself to go faster

[dexdog Graduate]

It is easy to get wrapped up in it at. But I was starting dread running (even more than normal) so made a decision to just do my thing . At the moment I am just racking up the ks. (for me) My job is 6.30- 6 5 days a week and I really don't like running in the dark so weekends are the best opportunity. I am aiming for 40-50 k a month. When it is lighter I think I will start on speed a bit more. I do play squash and do a bit of zumba now and then. It is good to mix it up a bit.