Lots of the lovely people on this forum mention TIME . How many kilometres they covered in how many minutes? How far they travelled in the allocated 20,25,28 or 30 minutes.
Do I speak for many of the others out there, when I say the only time I am interested in is a GOOD TIME? Enjoying myself? Having a bit of fun? Just feeling so much BETTER!
I have just finished W9R1. I am more surprised than anyone to be saying either of those things. That I ran that long or that I enjoyed it. Very surprised!
I started C25K to get a little fitter. I have been retired now for many years, relying on pottering In the garden for exercise, walking is good for me, even if it is just to the car.
I smoked heavily until four years ago. I eat loads of salad but still put weight on. Perhaps that’s the bread, beer, meat, cheese and wine? Diets don’t do it for me, I enjoy food and drink too much. The answer should be to do more exercise. Tried following internet instruction for domestic based gymnastic stuff with sit-ups and stretching, but there is no pattern or feedback. Played with the expensive looking green and red exercise gadgets in the park. What are you supposed to do? For how long? What next?
C25K seems to offer a serious plan. There is obvious progression. You know full well whether you are doing it properly, because it soon has an effect. Tighter tum was my first clue. Tired but not exhausted. Don’t feel you made a good job of the week? Repeat it; or not. You choose.
Most of the silver striders seem to follow the example of the little Japanese Slow Running YouTube man for speed.
The gospel according to Iannoda Truffe provides answers to all the questions that you hadn’t even thought of asking yet. The brisk walk is as good for you as the running? That came as a surprise. You are not alone. Post on here and answers to questions, or praise for your progress floods in from all these new “runner” friends of yours. Everyone has TIME for you new “runner”.
Now I have a dilemma. What next? I currently seem to run about 3.5 km in my week 8 walk, run, walk session. If the gadget I use is accurate?
Today,Thursday and Saturday should be my week 9 days. Should I risk it, sign up for a park run and finish week 9 with a biggie? Even if my last week 9 warm down brisk walk is the rest of the 5K?
Do I quietly finish Saturday on my own route then repeat week 9 for three more weeks in what’s termed “consolidation” runs? Slowly try to add a little more distance to each run to get closer to 5K in 30 minutes? Working on my TIME.
Do I want to start thinking about doing 10K? There is a further course “Bridge to 10K”, but 30 minutes running 3 times a week seems just enough at the moment. TIME enough for that later. I hope.
First TIME I have done any running for fifty years.
Never dreamt that I would get to enjoy running in such a short TIME.
What TIME of day shall I do my run? ✔️
Have I got TIME to get from here to there? ✔️
Which is the best app to measure my distance and TIME? Working on it.
What is an acceptable 1Km target TIME? And the answer is.....as long as it takes.
Newbie?
TIME to start C25K? Now!
Take your TIME.
Do the TIME.
HAVE a great TIME.
There is no TIME like the present!
Written by
Hatman
Graduate
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Hi Hatman I am with you on your comments all the way. Used to run years ago and all people were interested in was "what time did you do, how many miles did you go" Hated it so sort of lost interest. Now years and years later here I am again mainly for health reasons. I re found my love in running through C25K. I am not a fast runner and I potter along. I don't care how far I run it is more how long I can manage to keep going. Finished C25K feeling really pleased that I had not skipped one session, not got injured (maybe just luck there) . I used to use STRAVA which maps as you run but also times you and some people love it, but it does tend to drift away from your route add on extra mileage you have not done and you end up being an 8min a mile runner haha. I use mapmyrun. It is easy to plot a running route before you go out if you want to see how long that takes you go then all you do it use your watch. If you have to cut for home then remap it. I am not keen about getting into 10k at the moment I am enjoying my running as it stands. I have signed up for a 5k run for my local hospice to keep me on track for another few weeks. Just keep running 3 times a week, it is my choice what I do how far I go and the freedom that gives you does start making it part of your DNA....have fun I intend to although sometimes like today when the sun decided to come out to play it was rather hot going....
A significant portion of the Bridge to 10k community are people that rarely if at all run to 10k, as it's not something you necessarily need or would want to do unless you had an event to go to, or felt the 30-minute runs weren't doing enough for you.
The last 5 posts on Bridge to 10k at the moment, for example, are:
- someone with technical problems
- someone trying out the strength workouts, which you can do during Couch to 5k (C25K)
- someone running 6km in Warsaw
- someone querying a medical problem, and
- someone letting us know of a dolphin medal you can get for accumulating 10km in August (I sincerely doubt most people that get that medal will achieve the 10km by running 10km in one run).
There was a post a short time ago from RealFoodieClub who raised this issue, about where C25K graduates that don't particularly want to aim for 10k should post. As you say, running three times a week is much, much better than many, many people achieve. I think it's been resolved that things stay as they are, and when you graduate from C25K you can stay here to help others going through this journey, and make posts that aren't particularly relevant to C25K (like the things above) in the Bridge to 10k forum.
You do your runs Hatman at whatever time you want, taking as long as you need. I'm glad you enjoyed w9 r1 - your little Graduate badge is only a few days away. Where you go from there is completely up to you, and you can take as much time as you need to decide.
Yep... it’s all about time... maybe your next plan will be all about distance... running should rarely about both at the same time... it’s all about having fun while staying fit.
I don’t know if your gadget is accurate... but it’s not a biggie... there’s a 10% rule for addition to weekly milage, and that can be done in terms of time, your gadget’s reading, or perfectly calibrated measurements of a run on a track.
Yes, it’s certainly ok to go to parkrun before you can run it all... they’d love to have you... I walked all of my first one... they loved having me!
Enjoy closing this out now, you’ve done great... and enjoy that parkrun graduation... don’t forget your barcode and don’t worry about TIME.
Super post. Love the fact you’re choosing how it works for you and you’ve got so many options. Keep posting, nice to share your journey with this lovely forum 👍
The posting by forum friends of time..pace..distance etc varies...and the majority of folk on here, don't do it.
Strava and similar apps cover them thankfully....Bridge to 10K and the Marathon and HM forum have more references to stats, as folk have Graduated and are seeking different perspectives.
We do try, very hard to help our runners to feel that this whole plan is intended, not only to get you to running for 30 minutes...but to enjoy the whole experience.
Over the years we have had folk push to the point of exhaustion..speedsters and boasters...they disappear as speedily as they appeared, usually after creating a whole load of trouble....with many other new runners left feeling inadequate and abject failures.
Time is precious...
Time is irreplaceable...
Tine is free, yet priceless...and..
... as Tolstoy said...
"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."
Thank’ee Ma’am. Tug of forelock. The pleasure was, and has been for the last 10/12 weeks or so, all mine. I have thoroughly, eventually, enjoyed my time plodding through these weeks. I am so surprised to be saying that. 9/3 tomorrow, and I am going out in a blaze of 5K park run. Leave the start line with Laura on my 5 minute warm up, silver shuffle for thirty minutes, then possibly quite a long cool down walk with a tail end spurt perhaps? As recommended by my fellow forumites.
After that, repeat week 9 a few times seems likely, look at JuJu’s magic10?, but only from the view of having a pattern to follow, slowly. A few more metres in 30 minutes or the same distance in less, seems plenty to aim for, at the moment. If I need to get to 10K, that is what my bus pass is for.
In excess of three score and ten, I am delighted, to be slimmer, tauter, sleeping better and feeling so much better in myself. That is what I gained from C25K, along with confidence and a bit of kudos too. I think that I am as good at “running” as I now need to be. I surprised myself by being able to run for thirty minutes. Completing a park run will give me a “standard” to wave at my grandkids.
Hopefully I will be allowed to stick around here and crow a bit, whilst helping others, as I have been helped by all the good folks here, and particularly you admin folks who do such a great job keeping it all ticking over. The work you do really is much appreciated.
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second time around...
Collywobbles in Week 5 (second time around)
W6R3: this time it’s personal
A brief history of time
This is a great time to start C25K!
