Again today I've seen a post asking what to do after c25k so here's my twopenneth for what it's worth.
So many get to week 9 run 3 and graduation and immediately sign up to 10k apps and a few even race on to half marathons.
Now there's nothing wrong with this however let me take you back to w1r1 and running for 1 minute seemed almost impossible and you couldn't wait to hit that sixty seconds so you could stop as your lungs were just about bursting and the thought of hitting wk2 and running for 90 seconds was never going to happen.
Now lets move on to wk9r3 and graduation and now you're running for 30 minutes but just like week 1 run 1 you can't wait for the timer to tell you that you've hit 30 minutes so you can stop otherwise your lungs for certain will burst and your legs can't go on.
So what to do next sign up to 10k (or more) and continue the torture or something else?
Now if we went back to wk1 r1 we'd laugh at just how easy it is and yet just 9 short weeks ago it was tortuous
So with this in mind why not for the next few weeks (at least) before rushing on continue running for three times a week for thirty minutes (or maybe push out to 5k) and continue building strength and stamina untill we can look back just as we did from wk 9 to wk 1 and wonder what the struggle to run thirty minutes was all about and we can run it with comfort and enjoy (maybe including a few park runs).
Then when we've built something of a base to build on think about where we want to go and then make the decision.
I'm sure then with the extra strength we've built into those new runner legs whatever decision we make it will be so much easier to go forward and also with those stronger legs whatever we do there will be less chance of injury because we've set a firm/strong foundation
Whatever we do folks happy running.
Written by
rolysmate
Graduate
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For beginners, a few weeks of consolidating is ideal IMO - it allows the body to adjust and gives you some time to think about what direction to take next. Nothing wrong in that
I totally agree - I graduated a year ago and I only just feel ready to embark on much longer distance running - it took a good few months for me to reach 5k - once that was achieved I set my goal to 3x 5k runs a week - it’s only now I feel more than ready for the 10k challenge
Sounds sane to me ! At the same time, some people just need a constant challenge. There isn’t a right or wrong about what to do after the programme, except that going back to the couch is a big no-no ! 😄
You know when I graduated rolysmate ...and you know what I’ve been doing since...I’ve been doing what I can, building up my strength gradually because I know that if I’d have pushed for 10k straight after graduation, I would’ve been either back on the couch or disappointed over not reaching that magic number...yes there’s been some pants runs but the majority of my runs I have enjoyed...& that’s what running is to me, something I want to enjoy & carry on enjoying...I want to get up to 10k yes, but however long it takes me I can look back & smile when I think of those early weeks when my lungs were bursting...x
You hit it on the nail thanks. I graduated last week and was wondering if there's an app like c25k with continued interval support telling me when I have done 5 min warm up then ran for 5 min etc.Thanks.
I still only run 5k 3 times a week, including Parkrun, but have reduced my time now by 3 minutes. I don’t want to run further or significantly faster and so just doing 3, 30-35 minute runs each week suits me at the moment
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WEEK 9 - Graduation Week
9 weeks and 9 months!
Week 9 scuppered again!
