Week 8 - distance falling short - any advice on how to reach 5k?

[Ineedtodothis]

Hi, first post and a bit late to this but am after some advice... I am an overweight non-runner (or was a non-runner pre C25k) and although I had cycled and swum a bit in the past - I had been inactive for a few years... so I am pretty slow pace-wise. Honestly do feel proud to have got this far (just did week 8 run 1) I am a serial excuser and yet I haven’t missed or delayed a single session so am very pleased in that respect BUT (and it’s a but(t) even bigger than my own as it wobbles down the road on my runs!) I am not covering much ground on my runs and I am not sure how to get to the elusive 5k after week 9...

I have been tracking my runs but have included warm up walks until the last two runs where I turned the tracked on only for the running sections and I covered only 2miles in 25 mins 😫 and then 2.2 in my first 28min run tonight (pushed a little harder after the disappointment of only 2 miles!) . I admit I was very nervous of pushing too hard for fear of having to stop and not achieving the non-stop running goals... And I felt good this evening despite a little increase in pace so feel more confident about this now..

But at this rate I will not be running the elusive 3.107 miles by the end of week 9...I’ve done the maths and we’re looking at 36 mins for that (ish!) So my question is... after I graduate, should I A) keep increasing the TIME and aim to cover 5K in as long as it takes whilst still pushing myself gently then aim to decrease the time OR B) increase my PACE and aim to cover move distance in 30 mins over the following weeks? Which approach is better? Or is it just a matter of which suits different people?

Thank in advance to anyone with the patience to have read this far into my waffle!

P.S. I have a 5k fun run booked in early July and I am determined to run it all.

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

It is now well recognised that the name of this programme is not the best - but Couch to 5K sounds better than couch to 30 minutes . Re the 5k - I personally think it is better for you to get to the distance first and then worry about what time later So once you can run for 30 minutes - repeat that effort for a month or so and then start to increase your distance until you get to 5k - Consolidate that for a while - maybe another month - and then start to try to pace it all a bit faster. Once you can indeed run the 5k "strongly" but maybe "slowly"- you could revert back to intervals, by running saying 1 klm segments at a faster pace ( with a minutes rest in between) slowly increasing the number of 1k repeats until you are doing maybe 6-7 , then start to reduce the walking breaks. Slowlee slowlee catchee monkee

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Bazza1234]

Thanks Bazza for such practical advice - I hadn’t thought of returning to interval training to increase the speed... I can see that working having gone through the C25k plan - I never imagined I could run 30 mins non-stop 7 weeks ago so I can now see how a similar approach might help me speed up once I’ve got the distance “strong and slow” (loved that!) really useful thank you x

[Jogunlikely Graduate]

Only 10/15% of C25k folk actually get to 5k in week nine, so have no fear you would be in the majority not the minority 😊

I've graduated and not run 5k. It doesn't matter. You are following a plan that gets you zero to 30 mins continuous running in nine weeks. How amazing is that!

There is an admin post somewhere that explains how to build distance or speed once you have done your 9 weeks. With luck one of the Admins will see your post and link you to it. If not, go have a look it's worth the read. Pushing too hard too soon puts you at risk of injury. So whilst running the full 5km in July would be amazing for you, maybe set out to enjoy your fun run first and foremost

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Jogunlikely]

Thanks so much for the reply... I shall console myself with the fact that I am in good company! And you are right a good aim is to enjoy running and not get injured! Thank you x

[Stephen_UK Graduate]

This is well worth a look: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Stephen_UK]

Yes really interesting thanks for sharing - excited to just see where I get to now x

[Run_for_life Graduate]

I just increased my time after finishing the course. I was only up to 4.1K after 30 minutes. My next run I just didn’t look at the clock, and focused on distance, and adjusted my pace, and hit 5K with a little bit of energy to spare! Not clock watching is very liberating, and let’s you focus on the distance. Work out a route which is 5K, then try to run along it.

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Run_for_life]

Thanks... I like the sound of this approach - I do want to hit the distance as a priority I think - I didn’t want to find myself having never achieved 5k at the start of the 5k ‘race’ - at least if I’ve done that I won’t be too daunted. Thank you

[Ritmo Graduate]

Find a Parkrun when you've graduated. My pb at Parkrun is still 46 min so I'm _very _ slow, but I'm improving all the time (I'm 58).

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Ritmo]

Wow... how has parkrun passed me by? 🙄 Thanks for the recommendation - as soon as I’ve done week 9, Saturday mornings will be parkrun days! Yippeee!

[Ritmo Graduate in reply to Ineedtodothis]

Parkrun is great. People run with dogs and buggies and there are all abilities and speeds. The fastest guy at ours does it in 17 minutes (!).

You could even become a Parkrun tourist. We did one on holiday in Montreal.

On New Year's Day our local one wasn't in so I went to another one and people there were planning to do two... one starting at nine and one at ten..

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Ritmo]

That’s so great - I travel a lot so it totally works for me! Thanks

[danis Graduate]

I hate the c25k name. Its not about distance but time. Keep running and your pace will naturally improve. If you push to much you might fail and give up. Think how far you've come already and relax about the 5k.

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to danis]

I shall try - thanks for the reassurance! X

[Am_i_really_running Graduate]

I've just graduated and on my last run I was determined to get to 5k. It took me n extra 5 minutes and I felt it afterwards. I'm now going to do a few 30 min runs with bike rides in-between and build up my strength and stamina until I naturally get to 5K in less than 30 mins. Its about the duration and the distance will eventually build up. Don't push too =hard in case you do yourself some bother

[Ineedtodothis Graduate in reply to Am_i_really_running]

Okay good to know - I will take the increases gently... thanks for the advice x

[Liyzke]

I am exactly in the same boat!