Hi just a quick question, I'm starting week 5 this week and I must admit I am one for looking ahead and seeing what's coming 😂
I have just been looking ahead at the later weeks runs 7,8 and 9 and notice the 5 min warm up then continuous running. Do they also have the 5 min cool down walk at the end? I'm asking because I'm thinking of my route and thinking I'll maybe have to find a longer one and also does that mean I'll be out for 40 minutes on my week 9's?
Sorry if it seems like a stupid question 🤪
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Thanks both, so when I'm seeing people on here saying about how far they're running on week 9 is that just the 30 min runs or does that include the warm up and cool down walks?
Different people report different things. The important thing is that the majority don't complete 5k in the 30 min of running, so don't be despondent if you're not near the 5k in your final weeks. Also, although it's always tempting to compare yourself to others, it's better to run at whatever speed makes it an enjoyable run for you, otherwise you won't be able to complete. Week 5 is a good week to teach you that, it's a big achievement but only possible if you're running at a manageable speed. Enjoy the running
Thank you, I was just thinking I've saw a lot of people saying about not getting to 5k and how it's really about running for 30 mins which I'm fine with anyway, but if I included the 5 min warm up walk and the 5 min cool down walk I might do 5k so therefor technically it will have gotten me from couch to 5 k. As you can see I'm an over thinker haha.
True 😂 I was thinking it's called couch to 5k not couch to running 5k in 30 minutes but you're right I guess it would be cheating to include the 10 min of walking 😂 I'll be quite happy if I can get to 30 mins of running anyway.
Regarding that 5 minute warm up walk before you run or the 5 minute cool down walk at the end of your run would depend where your run begins, no runner is going to get out if his/her car and immediately start to run around a park and end the run back at his/her car. (well they might if it was raining very heavily)
All runners need those 5 minutes at least at the start and the end of their run
Personnaly I have a 9 minutes walk before my Saturday morning 5K not parkrun and a 25 minute walk back home after I run, at least on my usual route, however, during the winter months when it was icy I only had a 3 minute walk at each end of my run when I ran on the park only 3 minutes walk away from where I live.
I still do a 5 minute walk to warm up and at least a 5 minute walk to cool down when starting from home.
Yesterday was very much an exception. I started from my car in a new venue (a local reservoir/boating lake) and did a shorter warm up walk (only 2 minutes) but started my run very slowly.
I also didn't cool down when I finished the lap of the lake because I decided to change plans due to: feeling something wrong in my hip area, noticing incoming rain and a growing need to visit the loo. I stopped running right at the car. It hammered it down with rain a few minutes later.
I wouldn't do that normally. It was the result of bad planning and unforeseen problems. Also the run was short (just over two miles and 20 minutes), I'd been doing it at a very easy pace and hadn't really exerted myself.
When I did my 10 mile runs several weeks ago I actually had a 15 minute cool down walk. I needed it. If I'd just stopped running with no cool down my legs would have seized up.
Thank you for that explanation, makes perfect sense. I'll hold my hands up I'd been looking at some runners strava profiles and their distance and times and I was intrigued, I imagined them starting to run the minute they left their front door or car and finishing as they arrived back but your description makes much more sense, I guess they must start to record their runs as they start to run and stop them as they stop therefore not recording their walking sections on strava.
Some of us record the whole thing (walks included) and some just record the run itself. I'm a walks-and-all type, except for the really long runs, where I'll record the cool down walk separately.
You might not have noticed but there's an "NHS C25Kers" club on Strava.
Yes I do follow that club on strava. I'm fascinated at looking at peoples routes and pace times at the moment. I'm happy to take it slow and enjoy the journey only just about to begin week 5 so won't get too ahead of myself.
Interesting question... I wonder what you done on your first and second time doing this (as you stated in a reply) that you wouldn't know all runs have 5 mins warm up/down
one of the times I did it with a running club so it wasn't this exact plan although it was the same concept. The other time I don't think I finished due to injury's. It also was 5 years ago so I just couldn't really remember properly.
I was looking back at my old strava posts and I had 30 min "runs" on there and I had recorded week 7 c25k on there but couldn't remember if I included warm up walls/cool down walks in them which kind of prompted me to ask just to get it straight in my head.
I'm certainly no expert (first time doing anything like this, I'm on week 8 run 2) but my understanding is a warmup and cool down are extremely important, in terms of minimising the risk of injury
Yea I'm sure you're absolutely right, I don't know why I was thinking they dropped off in the final weeks 🤦🏻♀️ I'm defiantly doing things a lot differently this time round and enjoying it a lot more and so far fingers crossed have managed to stay injury free 🤞🤞
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Didnt do the 5 min cool down...
Do you track the 5 min warmup/cool downs?
Think you can't do this? Dreading your first 5 minute run? 10 minute? How about that first 20?
Food and warm up/cool down walk.
5 minute brisk walks?
