Hi all. I'm on another HealthUnlocked group but only just stumbled across this one. From a complete non-runner with rubbish lungs and rubbish knees, I have my final run of the C25K on Friday! Can't believe I can do it! Although I have to say I thought running would get easier as I went along and it really hasn't, I find it a hard slog every time.
Anyway, I wanted to know what people do next? I think I need something structured, but not necessarily to go on to 10k - any ideas?
Consolidate.
After your Graduation you may find yourself kind of lost and all at sea. suddenly - no real 'structure' to measure your runs against or strive for, you have to figure it out on your own now..
Some go straight to the 5 to 10K programme , or something similar.
I continued running until I made 5K then was a bit lost. Decided to mix up my three runs each week then - one day, a long run where I would build up to five miles, one day on hills for 40 minutes, one day running faster than normal for 40 minutes.
Worked OK until I got the five miles under my belt, then I was kind of lost again.
And with freezing temps could not get out for a week or so.
Luckily I found a nice place to run without leaping dogs, cantankerous pram walkers, noisy cars whizzing by, general lunatics distracting me etc so now am just going to run and enjoy running.
Will set my timer for 40 minutes if I need to be home or off to work - but any day where there is no time constraint I am not even going to do that. Just take it slow and steady until good weather and charity Race events start up again and will then assess if I am capable of/have a desire for reaching 10K. If not, will be happy doing 5Ks and five miles and just keeping it fun and loose...
I don't want my running to turn into a chore - when the tail starts wagging the dog I quit pretty soon thereafter. I'm having far too much fun so far - even on the tougher days - to risk that happening 
Best wishes for a wonderful Graduation run on friday and hope the above helps you with the transition to 'graduate'
Congratulations for getting so far through the programme! Once you graduate it can seem a little daunting working out your own programme. However, you don't need to leave Laura just yet! There are C25K+ podcasts for graduates here:
nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/...
I find these really helpful. It is probably best to start with Stepping Stone. I generally run with one of these podcasts once a week, try and run my local parkrun and do another run where I try and extend my distance. As you can probably tell, a lot of graduates use this forum and there is plenty of support. Good luck with your graduation run!
Then what? Then what?
Well then my friend...We partay!
🌟🍷🎈🍸🎂🍻🎓🍻🎂🍸🎈🍷🌟
You get a shiny graduate badge, we consume vast amounts of virtual champagne, blast out the virtual music and dance 'til the early hours!
Everyone shouts 🌟🌟CONGRATULATIONS🌟🌟 and you blush and feel deservedly proud
Can't wait!
All of what Irish-John and tortoisegirl have said. Also, is there a running club near you? I joined one just after graduating and it has really been great - they have a run/walk group (mostly run but some short walk intervals) and it has really helped both my stamin and my speed (or at least I'm not quite so slow!). I went this evening and had a very good run. It helps with motivation when the evenings are dark and the guy who leads the group is great at encouraging people. I would never have thought of going if my husband hadn't got talking to a couple of people who said there was something for everyone.
Then there are things like the asics programmes. I keep meaning to start one but run out of time by the time I've done running club, the occasional park run, Stepping Stones and now about to try the speed one and, last but by no means least just go out and run and enjoy the sounds, sights, smells... everything that adds together to make running in the lovely countryside here so great.
Hi there!! When I completed the couch to 5k earlier on this year I carried on doing the final week for a few weeks then I discovered that we have a local running club who was doing a 10 week taster throughout the summer so I joined that, met some great people and ended up joining the official club, so I still go to that once a week and a few of us meet another night for a run, really enjoy it and made some lovely new friends!! So check your local area to see if there's a club?? Xxxx
Hi there and well done on your achievements to date. Just before I graduated I hadn't yet run the 5k distance so on my final run I worked out my route and carried on until I had. Each run after graduation I've tried to better my 5k time until this week when I've started to lengthen my runs gradually. Yesterday I ran 5.5k (not much more I know!) and tomorrow I have the day off work so I'm just going to run and see how far I can go!
For me it's less about following a programme, although that helped me to start running, but more about seeing how far I can go with it and challenging myself.
Good luck for your graduation run, can't wait to hear all about it
Parkrun?
Well done you.
Don't worry about finding it a slog each time. It isn't supposed to get easier. You are doing a lot more running! The beauty of the programme is even though you are now running for 30 mins instead of 1 minute, it doesn't feel that much harder.
It may feel like a slog but how does it feel compared to your Wk1R1 nearly 10 weeks ago?
Another vote for parkrun here, or find an 'event' to enter to keep you motivated. Again a running club would be a good idea but you might need to try a few before you find one that suits you. Good luck !
I've done two park runs since graduating, and in between, a little like Irishjohn, I have slotted in a hills route (aargh) and tried to extend my other route. I'm like you and need a goal focus on, but I'm aware that I need to consolidate my 5k running before I progress on to any thing too challenging. 'm pretty consistently below 30mins, but I now want to get below 25mins if at all possible.
I think you should take your time to consolidate for a while, then you will probably feel like doing a parkrun and/or moving on to gradually increasing your distance. Please please don't get too excited and run too fast, too far, too soon. Looking forward to the Graduation Party!
The first 10 mins of any run is hard. I always think when a gym instructor or my running club coach says "did you enjoy that" I want them to define "enjoy". I always feel better and am glad I did it at the end of a run or session but often at the time I think why am I doing this.
Set yourself a goal after Friday. Could be sub 30 min 5k, park run or a 10k. Even just running 3 times a week.
Looking forward to your graduation post!
Run on the beach
Last run done!!!! Yay! 
last run! graduation
The elusive last run...
Week9 last run
