After C25K: I am currently on week 8 (who knew... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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After C25K

Di-L profile image
Di-LGraduate
10 Replies

I am currently on week 8 (who knew) and am looking ahead to when I graduate. I will be nowhere near 5k (currently 3.5 including 5 min warm up walk) so how do I progress to the 5k? Do I just run a little longer each time until I get there? Thanks in advance x

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Di-L profile image
Di-L
Graduate
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10 Replies
Beccym profile image
BeccymGraduate

The title is a bit misleading. Few people are at 5 k at week nine. It is more about running consistently at this stage. I still only occasionally run a sub 30 5k.

RunningGeek profile image
RunningGeekGraduate

I managed 3.9k on my graduation run. It's the running time that is important not the distance at the moment. Once I had graduated in October I started increasing my time & can now do 5k in about 40 minutes. I am also finding that I am speeding up slowly. Be patient, speed and distance will improve with time :-)

Joy57 profile image
Joy57Graduate

As the others say, don't worry, if you keep going out, it will come. I was doing 4k at graduation as well.

CarolStr profile image
CarolStrGraduate

it does come - promise! I graduated at the end of October with 3.95k and just kept increasing my time (not my speed) on one of my three weekly runs by 3mins at a time until I hit 5k. Took me just over three weeks to get there. When I got to the point that 5k was in sight as do-able I ran even slower than usual just to make sure I nailed it

CookieM profile image
CookieMGraduate

I'm also on week 8 and running around 3 - 3.5km in the 28 mins (depending on which strava stats I believe!!). I'm just focusing on the time at the moment, and will worry about the distance once I can do 30 mins!!! :)

I graduated in September, nowhere near 5k in 30 minutes. I got used to running for 30 minutes 2 or 3 times a week, then started to run for longer until I was hitting 5k. I am currently managing 5k in around 37 minutes (not including a warm up walk). I'd like to get below 35 minutes but really quite happy just to be running the 5k at the moment. This time last year I would never have dreamt I could run that far!

Sadamski profile image
SadamskiGraduate

My first 5k was about 37 minutes I think, it took me about 6 months to get a sub 30min 5k.

Just add a couple of minutes per week until you hit 5k then work on getting the time down.

Jess93 profile image
Jess93

I graduated on Christmas Eve (wanted to graduate by Christmas, but I'll always be a procrastinator!), but I've done all of my runs on a borrowed treadmill due to feeling self-concious and bad weather, so this might be a little different to everyone elses.

My graduation run worked out at being about 4.4 km, not including warm up and warm down walks. Because I'm doing mine on a treadmill, it's obviously much easier to see your speed, and do the maths from there, but I'm planning on increasing the speed very slowly (0.1km p/h a time if need be!) until I can comfortably maintain 10 km/h for the full 30 minutes (and run a full 5km). I'm then hoping to go on to some kind of bridge to 10km, which again is based on sustaining 10km/h.

For me, the main reason I'm doing it this way (rather than by just doing 5km regardless of how long it takes) is because I want to do a bridge-to-10km type plan, but be able to do the whole thing where I run at the 'correct' speed and just build up stamina- this wasn't an option for c25k, and I don't want to start the next plan trying to run before I can walk (if you'll pardon the expression!)

Hope this helps :)

june67 profile image
june67Graduate

well done your nearly there don't worry about distance it will come in time :)

Di-L profile image
Di-LGraduate

Thanks all, will increase my time bit by bit after I graduate and go from there :)

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