There’s slow, there’s slower then there’s me

Hi,

I am beyond proud of myself. I can run for 25 mins. I go very, very slowly and get into my happy zone. I run slower than most people’s walking.

But I think I must be the slowest ever. I manage 3.6 km in 25 mins running plus 10 mins walking so I probably run 2.5 km in 25 mins which should make me 3 km in 30 mins.

My initial major goals were 5 mins and 1 mile and I don’t feel nearly ready for 5 km which is fine by me.

But is anyone as slow as me? Not the end of the world if not as still enjoying it and feeling chuffed.

S

[mrrun Graduate]

You are supposed to be slow. Slow builds your resistance, cardio, leg muscles and endurance. Crucially, slow also prevents injuries. Don't compare yourself to others, you've got your zone going, keep it. As you get stronger you'll speed up naturally and then, if you want, there are training methods that can make you as fast as you can be, whatever speed that may be. You're doing alright, don't worry. Speed attempts in the beginning will almost certainly send people to the injury couch. You don't want that.

[Jools2020 Graduate]

Me! I did 3.3 km on my graduation run.

You should feel proud of yourself, because you can run for 25 minutes! 👏👏👏👍. That makes you pretty amazing.

The distance you cover isn’t relevant, it’s all about the TIME you spend running. That’s what increases your strength and stamina.

Well done! Good luck with Week 8 👍

[Hidden in reply to Jools2020]

That’s lovely to hear. Thank you. S

[healthy-laughter Graduate]

I have posted on here before that I can't even catch up people strolling slowly in the park! Don't worry about it. I did my first 30 min jog yesterday and when I got home mapped my run to measure it properly (my Fitbit is far to kind to me and it thinks I have a human stride, not an ants). I only did 3.3km. Not sure I will ever get to 5km but moving for 30 mins is a total revelation so just be proud of what you are doing and how far you have come. Keep 🏃‍ slowly, it's doing us good. 🐌🐢🐌

[Hidden in reply to healthy-laughter]

Thank you. Just don’t want to be the only one.

[Jools2020 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I’ve done 22 consolidation runs and I still can’t run 5K in 30 minutes 😀. I’m too busy focussing on my long, slow runs. Those I CAN do 😂

[9weeks2Run Graduate]

That is amazing 👏👏👏👏Well done

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Stay slow, keep running.

Only a small proportion of graduates from this forum who responded to a poll, managed 5k in 30 minutes by graduation healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

Graduation requirements are that you complete three thirty minute runs, regardless of distance.

[Maxi80]

There’s slow, then there’s awesome 👍

[JEGS Graduate]

Oh yes I’m slow, in fact I joked with my hubby I’m faster in the warm up and warm down walk and instead of laughing he agreed with me. I’m never going to do 5k in 30 minutes ever.

[MinnieMoo55 Graduate]

I started week 6 yesterday and so far have kept away from even looking at how far I can go!

My goal was never a distance but just to see if I could keep running for a set amount of time...maybe when I get to week 9 I might check it out but for now I don’t want anything to dent my confidence 😁

[NewRun53]

I’m also very very slow, and because I’m doing it on a treadmill the chances of me speeding up ( as I imagine you might do as you zoom down a hill?) are zero! But what I say to myself is: Look at you! You are running solidly for 28 mins ( I’ve just done W8R1) you are running longer at age 53 than you ever have in your lifetime!!

[Graleystives Graduate in reply to NewRun53]

These are exactly my thoughts!

[Graleystives Graduate]

I graduated several weeks ago and run about 3k in 35 minutes so yes!

[Hidden in reply to Graleystives]

Thanks. I really like going slowly (and couldn’t go any faster) but I was beginning to feel I was miles behind.

[CazzaW Graduate]

Me too, I go really slowly 😊 I love the comment about being faster on the warm up and warm down walks.... that’s me too 😂 I don’t worry about distance, am just desperate to keep going!

[LottieMW Graduate]

🙋🏻‍♀️

I have been regularly walking 2 miles (3.2k) this year and have been logging them on MapMyWalk and Strava.

I’m also using a 2 mile circuit for C25k...and logging from start to finish (including start/finish walks).

There is barely any time difference between a walking day and a C25k day 😬

...slowly but surely wins the race...but it’s *not* a race...

🐌🏃🏻‍♀️🐢🏃🏻‍♀️😎

[Feltip Graduate]

I'm slow, although never measured my distance, however, I did walk my usual route. What I ran in 28 mins, week 8, I walked the same distance in 31 minutes. So not scientific but it shows my run was 3 minutes quicker than my walking pace

I'm happy with that. I'm not particularly looking to cover any particular distance I'm just pleased, surprised, amazed I've got this far 😁

[SteveB84]

Hey,

Did w5r3 at a pace of 8.32km so that’s 2.4k for 20mins (I don’t count the walks). Was a comfortable pace but when I come to do w6r1 3mins into the first 5 mins I had a pain at the front of my leg ie the start of shin splints. I didn’t do anything for a week and then completed w6r2 at a pace of 9.12 k/m. Felt comfortable but again felt the shin splints starting to kick in. I took another week off and got into ice cold baths straight after a run. Which helped massively.

Went back out Sunday and didn’t follow the plan just wanted to see how far I could go before the pain crept in. I slowed it right down and felt like I was jogging on the spot. Focused on technique, ie foot landing underneath the body and in the middle of the foot. Was best run by far and had to check the time in the end and completed 25mins and felt like I could go forever. The pace was slow at 10.33 km and the total distance was 2.37k. So 5k would take me 50 mins and a little slower than yours but if am honest like you am not bothered at all just pleased I have good foundation to work with.

So basically yeah I am just as slow lol!