First fail today.

[LemonieJ]

Was really confident with my run this morning, R1W9, as it was only 2 minutes longer than last week. Am trying to get under 30mins for my official 5k at the end of August so adjusted my stride to make it longer today. 6 minutes in and had to stop and walk as my head took over. Walked for a few minutes and was gutted. No surrender though, walked back to the beginning and started again at normal pace, normal stride. Finished it all the second time and won't be doing anything else other than running to finish till I've completed R3 and graduared.

[froggyrunner Graduate]

You didn't fail! You did it! Well done. I didn't manage week 8 run 1 first time. Ended up walking and giving up. Finally nailed it this morning though! Well done you for starting again and doing it!!!!

[Hidden]

That certainly shows determination! Well done

You've still got 5 running weeks (if you go every other day) until your 5k and it sounds like you are making good progress. So don't push too hard, you will definitely see more gains post graduation. Just take it steady and the strength, stamina and speed will come.

[Millsie-J Graduate]

Well done on completing, true determination!

Be careful about over striding as it can lead to injury.

Get to 5K first, slow and steady. Then you can begin to think about pace 🏃🏻‍♀️

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Forget that 'f'word.... well done for finishing the run... forget the under 30 mins...just get to those thirty minute runs, safely and injury free

[Davoda Graduate]

Well done on sorting your head out & completing your run.

I don't think you should be trying to change your stride at all. As you do more running, becoming fitter, faster, stronger you will find your stride may well lengthen itself, but it won't be a conscious thing. And if/when it does it will be automatic.

Graduating without injury is more important than getting a sub 30 5k! 😉

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Please don't try to increase your pace by increasing your stride, unless you are under the supervision of an experienced coach. As a new runner, it is a recipe for a visit to the IC. To get faster, increasing your cadence is by far the safest way.

It is great to have a target, but I have never set a target for a specific date.........that could easily lead to disappointment. If this is your first 5k race just aim to finish. Your time will be your 5k PB, whether it is above or below 30 minutes and you should be proud of it regardless, not disappointed in yourself because you didn't meet an arbitrary target.

Also, be realistic, you need to maintain a 6:00min/k minimum pace for each kilometre to get below 30 minutes. Just check that is actually within reach before setting a target. Setting sights too high can be dispiriting, so keep the progress slow and steady. There are no short cuts.

You are doing great but are unlikely to improve much if you apply too much pressure to yourself.

[LemonieJ Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

My pb for 5k is 34:10 and I run at 170bpm. Would love to lose the extra to get under 30mins but am going to let it happen naturally. Have changed up my other exercise to help so you never know.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to LemonieJ]

That is a 6:50m/k pace, so to be honest getting under 30 minutes in your 5k is quite a tall order. Better to keep running regularly and build stamina and I would recommend actually going beyond 5k at least once before the race just to get any psychological barriers out of the way.

On the day you will probably run faster than ever before..........so anything is possible.

[Davoda Graduate in reply to LemonieJ]

Mmmm taking off 4:10mins in 4 weeks is very tall order.

After graduating I did take off 4 mins in my 5k, but I didn't do it in 4 weeks!

[Decker]

These are some smart people with plenty of run experience in this group. The best advice I got was to follow the program and not push myself too hard. The pace and speed will come later. For now the injury-free completion of the program is key. Good luck!!

[SueKen Graduate]

Something I read somewhere also this week - F**L - first attempt in learning 😊