Ran 5k today!

[Spammachine]

I've been working through C25k and using the app, I'm still on week 5. I was ill for a few weeks, so I'm just repeating that week because I failed week 5 3 before my illness.

I got invited to a gentle jog this evening with a running club and while I was nervous, I figured I'd give it a go. I managed 5k!:

strava.com/activities/22973...

I think what did it for me was keeping a slow pace with other people - on my own my pace has been around 9-10 / mi and I always get out of breath. Today, I didn't really feel out of breath.

My legs feel fine now, not sure how they will tomorrow :D.

Should I continue with the app, or just take it slower on my runs?

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Well done... and a sensible pace. However, it was an increased injury risk. In general we shouldn’t add more than 10% to our weekly mileage, and you almost certainly shattered that! So... you now know you can do 5k, that’s cool... nothing to prove. Get back on the plan and allow the legs to develop at the right rate. Celebrate that 5k, and want more of them... injuring yourself doing them too soon would be stupid though, right? Finish the plan and enjoy a summer of wonderful running afterwards.

You’ll run 5k at your usual pace pretty soon if you run this smart.

[Spammachine Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

I agree with you about injury - whilst I definitely increased my distance, i'm hoping the pace counteracts some of the force on my legs :).

I think you're right about continuing with the program - mentally I shouldn't be phased by any of the weeks ahead.

I found running with others definitely makes things seem easier!

[UnfitNoMore Graduate in reply to Spammachine]

It does... and it’s going to serve you well to have that lower gear... after this plan you’ll hopefully end up on another starting line, and it will have different runs... some are “recovery runs” and that’s when you engage that low gear.

Running with others is great... I finally ran my first parkrun at the weekend and running with a couple of hundred people was amazing... I even went faster than my plan said I should, so I ran slower than target pace on Tuesday, back to the plan properly tomorrow.

You’re going to be a better runner in a few weeks than you are now and then you’ll be ready to run faster in a group sometimes and slower in on others... you’ve found a good club if they have both of those ready for you.

Happy running.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Conditioning your body to do more than you normally do is a long slow, gently progressive route, normally following a well structured training plan. Just going out and running 5k does not mean that your body is conditioned to do that on a regular basis.......so your injury risk is likely to be elevated.

You might get away with it.........you might not.

C25k is tried and tested.

Making it up yourself is not.

I would urge you to stick to the plan.

What is the hurry?

Is it worth the risk?

[Spammachine Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

I totally agree with you. In my favour, I climb 2-3 times a week and have for 10+ years, I regularly walk and mountain bike. I know none of these strengthen legs quite the same way as running does, but my legs and tendons are fairly developed - it's more cardio I've always lacked and that is the reason I started C25K.

I'll definitely be following through with the rest of the program.