1K short

[Not60yet]

Hi,I’m on week 9,two runs to go til I graduate.Im doing my first Park run on Saturday,but have just measured my 30 min run and it’s just over 4K.Eek!Any advice on how to get the other 1K in( I thought that at week 9 I’d be running5K)

Looking forward to Park run but now worried I won’t finish it.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

You will finish..slow and steady and just enjoy..if you try to push it, that might cause problems..just have fun!

[Not60yet in reply to Oldfloss]

👍🏻

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Best advice would be to not chase it yet. If you run 4 in 30 minutes and add your warmup 5 minute brisk walk and cooldown the same, you’ll be at 5k or thereabouts anyway. You’ll also get to run past quite a few people.

The time to worry about pace and distance is still a few weeks away, and that’s if you want to go for it.

Parkrun is for Olympic athletes through to 100 year old walkers... just enjoy the experience.

[Not60yet in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thank you,I had completely forgotten my 10 minute walk,of course I can do 5K, the time doesn’t matter at all.Confidence restored!

[Granspeed Graduate in reply to Not60yet]

It’s fine to include warm up & cool down walks and they can be longer than 10 minutes too if you wish. Main thing is not to get swept into trying to go too fast - a little bit tricky in a group, so be aware and stick to your own pace. 😄

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

You do not need to run 5k by graduation day, as long as you run 3/30 minute runs of week 9, then you graduate, good luck for your graduation run and your first parkrun this week, I can assure you that you will complete that on Saturday morning.

[Not60yet in reply to AlMorr]

Thank you,confidence restored.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Many walk all or part of parkrun, so there is no problem there. Just do what you are comfortable doing and walk the rest. You will still set a parkrun pb!

According to this poll healthunlocked.com/couchto5.... less than fourteen percent of graduates from this forum completed a 5k run in 30 minutes at graduation.

Don't worry....... enjoy.

[Not60yet in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thank you,had forgotten I also do 2x5 min walks.Confidence restored!

[Tasha99 Graduate]

Hardly anyone can do 5k in 30 minutes in graduation! It took me another 5 months. Enjoy parkrun! It’s amazing 👍🏽

[Buddy34 Graduate]

Just concentrate on getting to the end of your next 2 runs. 5k in 30 minutes will just happen naturally . I just did my first parkrun it was really good most people ran some done a mix of run/walk. Do it as soon as you can . Good luck 😊

[Thiswayup42 Graduate]

I’m in exactly the same boat! Two more runs till I graduate yet nowhere near 5k. Made myself run an extra 5 mins last time in the hope that would mean I’d covered 5k but still not there, and it seems a long way off!

[FatterPenguin Graduate]

I found out a couple of weeks ago my phone had overestimated the distance I was running and therefore my pace too. I was devastated! But now, thanks to this forum, I feel much happier. I've given up caring about pace and distance, I'm simply delighted I can run for 30 minutes. Like you I'm on week 9 and I feel far away from a 5k but that doesn't matter, as that'll be my next goal. Go to Park Run, enjoy yourself and I'm sure one day we'll both be happily able to easily run 5k 😊

[Burrows2]

Hi I’ve noticed this too so just went out and did a test 5k. Managed it and felt good. You’ll do great and your adrenaline will keep you going. Well done!

[HuwC Graduate]

It took me seven weeks of consolidation to get to 5k in 30 minutes. Keep going - you’ll get there. Park runs are amazing at driving up your speed.

[Not60yet in reply to HuwC]

Is there a consolidation app please,or do I just aim to run for 30 mins three times a week and see how I get on.Not wanting to move up to 10k as I’m nearly 60 and have arthritis in my foot.Just happy to be running for 30 mins.

[HuwC Graduate in reply to Not60yet]

I just repeated the week 9 run 3 podcast, I don’t think there is a consolidation app, just a matter of picking something you’ll enjoy. These days I don’t run to music as I like the headspace.

[Not60yet in reply to HuwC]

Yeah me too,but I did enjoy Sarah’s words of wisdom🏃🏼‍♀️

[Ang33333 Graduate]

I graduated over a year ago and I still can't run 5k in 30 mins. I never will. But I can run 10k now! And am going to do a half marathon! For me it's not all about speed. Once I stopped worrying about how slow I am I started to enjoy running so much more! Good luck with parkrun. I love parkrun!

[Not60yet in reply to Ang33333]

I agree,speed isn’t an issue for me,I was just concerned I’d finished couch to 5K but only actually ran 4K.I thought I’d have been able to run 5K at graduation,when in fact it’s only 4

[RunningChocoholic Graduate]

Hi, I graduated last year. I can run 5k/10k but not in 30/60 minutes. I’m a happy plodder and would rather cover distance than stress about speed. Try to just enjoy the runs and all that you have achieved xx

[Not60yet in reply to RunningChocoholic]

I agree,speed isn’t an issue for me,I was just concerned I’d finished couch to 5K but only actually ran 4K.I thought I’d have been able to run 5K at graduation,when in fact it’s only 4.Will try my best to do my Park run on Saturday.

[ChoosingHappy Graduate]

I'm the same, 2 runs to go but for some reason the "5k" bit of c25k doesn't feel like a factor for me. As I read on here it should really be called *c230minx3in1wk* ! 🤣

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate]

Hi Not60yet ....well done on getting so far and I don't just mean in the programme, I mean in distance too! A 30 min run is all that's required to finish...you can work on your distance, speed, pace etc when you've graduated...good luck with park run, I'm sure you'll enjoy it

[Dexy5 Graduate]

Just start at the back and do your walk first, run your 30 mins and then walk. You might just be tempted to run over the finish line just at the end - go for it. Don’t forget your barcode 😄