Hello, I'm new to the forum but just finished Week 9 and I'm curious about the distances that people are running in 30 mins. I realised that "Couch to 5k" is a bit of a misnomer and that it's not about getting to 5k. I've done 3.2-3.35km in Week 9 which was unfathomable when I started!
Also, does anyone have any advice about how to carry on? I wasn't sure if was best to stick to 30 min runs and aim to get faster/cover further distances, or best to keep a similar pace but go for longer runs in order to achieve the further distances and eventually get to that elusive 5k?
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LadyWineGum
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I’m on week 8 and covered just under 4km today (including the 5mins walk at the start and end). Once i’ve completed week 9 I plan on continuing the same thing but just adding on a few minutes each week until I get to the 5k, then decide what to do after that.
Oh that's interesting thanks. I was also unsure whether to start measuring only when I start running. When I started Cto5k I was tracking from the start of the warm-up run because it was mostly walking anyway. But now I'm running solidly it seems wrong to include the warm-up walk in my distance reporting.
Congratulations on completing C25K with week 9 run 3, I completed my 30 minutes graduation run in 4.25Km and ran my first full 5k in a time of 34.21 and a few weeks later got a PB of 32.21, however, there was someone earlier today telling us that he ran week 8 run 3 which is a 28 minute run, his distance was over 5 kilometers. 😊
To get your graduation badge and the word GRADUATE 🎓 next to your username leave a message on the January graduate post in the pinned posts on the right side of the healthunlocked C25K home page and tell the administrators that you have ran W9R3 of C25K 🎓 🏃 😊
Good advice given by IannodaTruffe & Oldfloss LWG. Many congratulations on graduating. Fab achievement. You’ll achieve 5k in no time. Great pace too for growing those running legs 👏👏👏👩🎓🥇🎉🍾🍾🥂
Congratulations on completing the plan. First run at least a week of 30 minutes until it becomes comfortable.
Then, yes, try to go faster/cover more distance... just not on the same run for now.
5k is unlikely to come to you... so you need to go get it and that means extending a run each week. You are running 90 minutes a week, so you can safely add 5 to a run, and be within the 10% rule. Run a week of 30, 30, 35 all comfortable... 30, 30, 40 the next... get to 5k. Then you can start once in a six run cycle reducing the time on a 30 minute run and going at a pace that is above comfortable... either 15-20 minutes or interval runs. This can get you used to a faster pace. The combination of getting beyond 5k and faster shorter runs should combine on “race day” (maybe once a month) to become a 5k above comfortable run to reduce the PB.
I have no clue what distance I did on week 9 run 3, as I had miles set on my phone and didn’t work it out - what I have done since is do park run ( free and 5k), twice, no walking, and my latest time is 34 mins. I did it straight after a rest day on week 9. I’d really recommend it as you’ll find you don’t notice the extra as running with others and it’s a great next step. This might be less scientific than some other suggestions but you can always give it a try and walk if not managing it - plenty of people do. Hopefully there’s a park run near you. You can put couch 2 five k in the club part of registration apparently ... I couldn’t work out where. Well done on getting to week 9. It’s great isn’t it!
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distance of each week
Week 9 how will it be 5k?
9 weeks and 9 months!
Week 9 - the end is nigh 
Week 3 distances dramatically dropped 
