Coombe Abbey and other stuff

[katyjinny]

It's just over a year since I started the 9 week Couch to 5K and I've nearly finished, 1 more week to go I'm now running at Coombe Abbey near Coventry. Does anyone else here go there? I've been finding the longer runs a bit monotonous. What do you think about when running? Also a runner friend has told me my cadence is too slow. I'm reluctant to speed up at the moment in case I'm worn out before completing the time. Current time per km averages 7m 30s I had planned to get to the 30 minutes running then start to aim for a 7 minute km.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

I suspect your runner friend is not the best support for you currently. Whilst there's no rush with the programme, a year is quite a long time to get through it so there are clearly some issues you've been struggling with - whether that is just finding the time and establishing the habit or frequent injury/illness or something else (??? serious confidence issues). Your cadence and speed would not seem to me to be the first priority. I have been running regularly for over four years now and I am nowhere near as fast as you are already (there's a little suite of C25k+ podcasts for you to work on improving your run, and they all involve running to a beat)

I find it works for me to vary where I run (although lots of different routes at the lovely Coombe Abbey I would have thought) Sometimes listening to speech based audio helps (radio podcasts, audiobooks (I believe you can borrow them from the library in your area) rather than a load of three minute music tracks.

Enjoy your 30 minute runs!

[katyjinny in reply to GoogleMe]

I did have an injury last year after week 4, not running related, and started the programme again this January. I'm away from home a lot and find it difficult to find new places to run which don't involve hills which I can't do at the moment. Someone suggested using Spotify which apparently alters the beat to match your speed. I'll have to research that but will listen to those podcasts you suggest too. Thanks.

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

I would just concentrate on doing the time and really not worry about speed at this stage. I'm sure your runner friend means well, but just go at your own pace for now. Good advice from googleme about listening to something that provides a bit more distraction.

Good luck with the final runs!

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate]

7:30 per km is not bad for a beginner, so don't worry about your speed or cadence. Just try and run 3x a week and you'll find yourself getting faster. Just enjoy - both the running and your new found fitness!