Still Struggling 5k

[Dawnie16]

I graduated a while ago and since then I have been going out 3 times a week, on week nights after work I do between 3.5 and 4k and my time to start with was about 8.5km on a weekend I try to do 5k. I've been out this morning and wanted to do 5k but got to 4k and had to stop as I started to feel really sick. It was my best average time of 7.55km but don't seem to be able to get my distance up at all . I'm still doing it as I am actually enjoying it most of the time just not getting any better 😣

[Thea1965 Graduate]

What worked for me was to slow done. Don’t worry about your pace. You may find you can run for longer and get to 5k that way! You ‘ll be surprised how long you can run for at a slower pace 😀

[sparkyjohn Graduate]

Distance or speed? I wouldn't try to improve both in one go. Have you tried the c25k+ podcasts? There's one for speed, one for stamina etc. They may help, although if you're enjoying it I wouldn't worry about "getting better". Just keep on enjoying!

[Hidden in reply to sparkyjohn]

Yeah, if you look at the website with the NHS plan on

nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1...

It recommends you do C25K for the 9 weeks, then for three sessions after you do 5K+ stepping stone, then the next week it's 5k+ stamina for the final week 5k+ speed.

Not sure what you do after 12 weeks then! 🤔 Maybe those plus podcasts teach you techniques you can keep practicing - one week stamina, next week speed, then stamina again, etc. etc. I don't know.

[Dawnie16 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Tried them and didn't get on with them felt under too much pressure and wasn't enjoying it.

[sparkyjohn Graduate in reply to Dawnie16]

No, you don't want to feel pressured, especially by a tech thing. It's bad enough when real people do it. It looks like there's some good advice already offered so hopefully you'll get it sorted.

[Decker]

I don’t think you need to stress yourself out too much over this Dawnie. You’ve got the two main things down already: making this running a habit and enjoying it (most of the time). Maybe slow your pace a little until you reel in the longer distances and do that for awhile. Later on you can focus on getting a bit faster. When I was training for 5k, I would have markers to go by. The next run I would try and go to the next one. They could be lampposts or trees or whatever you like. When it became a game it got more fun too. Also are you drinking enough water before you head out? Thats another thing I neglected early on. Don’t worry, you will get there with time and effort

[Dawnie16 Graduate in reply to Decker]

Thank you that sounds like a really good idea going to give it a go, along with more water 😊

[bluwnd360]

Hi Dawnie, nausea when running is usually down to one of a few things

Constricting of the stomach while running; dehydration;poor pre run eating and lack of oxygen due to it being sent to the lungs.

I too suffer from nausea roughly 1 in 4 runs I will get a sudden bout of it which lasts for a few seconds. I believe mine is down to constriction of the stomach as it always starts on an incline; I tend to just run through it as I find it passes rather quickly regardless of it I stop or not.

To narrow down your cause I would recommend changing route; carrying refreshment with you; and working on your breathing.

Good luck

[57jas60 Graduate]

Stick with it and try going slower to extend your distance. You can build your speed when you’ve achieved that (if you want to).