Newbie here, just completed first run on a treadmill... Any advice?

[SianJ33]

Hi all, I'm a fairly unfit 35 year old woman and have just completed my first run on a treadmill, going at 5km/h when walking and 6.5km/h when running. I felt ok with that speed, and actually even carried on at the end to do a further 5 mins of running before the cooldown walk. I'm wondering if that was actually a bit too slow and I should push myself harder than this, as I don't think I should have wanted to carry on running at the end?! I only did 2.5km in total over the 30 mins...

[MichaelH070862 Graduate]

Are you doing C25K and what week are you I ask because if I remember W1 is only about 20 or so minutes if including warm up/cool down and that is all you should be doing don't try and push to hard to soon it will only end in pain and disaster.

[SianJ33 in reply to MichaelH070862]

Yep, it was my first run of C25K. With app I'm using it was 5min warm up walk, 20 mins of 60s run and 90s walk, and then 5min cool down walk. I followed it exactly until the end when I carried on running for 5 mins, before the 5 min cool down walk, as I felt like I wanted to keep going - maybe because I was running and walking at too slow a pace?

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate in reply to SianJ33]

Did you run for 5 mins non-stop at the end...

The plan is progressive with small increments each 'week' which you complete three times before moving up to the next 'week'.

This is intentional so that you build up stamina slowly without any injury. You take at least one days rest between running sessions.

Well done on starting, and you should be fine, but there is no need to add on any extra running. Follow the plan and you will get to running for 30 mins non-stop in a few weeks time😊

[MichaelH070862 Graduate in reply to SianJ33]

Slow and steady is the new cool at the moment just stick to the plan as the further along you go you won't feel like pushing it and will complete with no injury or feeling like it is to difficult .

[Hidden]

hi Sian - although I run on country lanes, I think the biggest principle is to keep it slow and steady, your time and distance sounds fine and if you felt you could do more then bravo. But for the programme to work for you you've got to be able to do that session another two times , so maybe it's better to be a little cautious at first. You don't want to overcook it and then find you're hurt or demotivated. It's surprising how the time and distance ramps up. I'm only on week 3 and even I have spotted a difference. People often say you should be guided by how your body feels, but the big problem for us newbies is we don't really know what that means... and of course you feeling fine could be an entirely different feeling to me feeling fine. So stay slow and steady is my advice, and don't stress about speed or distance. Well done for doing the first one though - it's a big thing to do

[O505k Graduate]

You could try running outside it is easier to set your own pace.

Alternatively just gradually increase the pace on the treadmill until you find what is right for you. Next time try 5.5km walking and 7.00km running.

[SianJ33]

Thanks for the advice guys, I will stick to it fully on run 2, without adding anything extra at the end. Def want to take it slow and steady as my body is not used to running (or much physical exertion at all 😳), so I don't want to risk messing it up by going too hard at the beginning. I guess I was just surprised that I didn't feel too bad at the end of the 30 mins, which is why I'm thinking I probably went a bit too slow. Will try upping it to 5.5km walking and 7km running next time, as O505k suggested.

I live in Singapore, so it's way too hot and humid to run outside (for me personally anyway), so need to stick to the treadmill unfortunately.

[Hidden]

So how is treadmill city going? Friends of mine live in Singapore and they are in Italy now on hols and tell me it's cooler and more comfortable here. And that's with 30+ degrees. Hope you're doing okay