When I was in the forums 2 years ago, any mention of distance was quickly dismissed.
I'm on Week 6 Run 3 next and my route up until now has been very similar, 3.5k.
I know that the aim is to run for 30 minutes and that some people say Couch to 30 mins would've been a more apt name. But when have people got to the 5k mark? My dream at the moment is to complete a park run after I've done C25k, but chucking on an extra 1.5k at the moment seems huge.
What week did people see an increase in the distance?
(this isn't coming from a competitive perspective, more so wanting to plan ahead routes etc)
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SlowSober
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No one is going to shoot you for talking about distance .However, as you know, it's not the aim of this program.
From a poll taken some time ago , around 10% of people reached 5k on week 9
What we would suggest is that after you have graduated you spend several weeks consolidating your 30 minute runs , whatever distance they may have been .
Once these 30 minute runs become comfortable then start increasing the distance on one of your weekly runs by a distance no more than 10% of your previous weekly distance total .
You will soon then get to 5K.
If you wanted to do a parkrun prior to this then remember you do not need to run all the way , run/walk is fine .
Amazing thank you Instructor57 - I'll be back after week 9 to get advice about what people do after. The 10% increase is a good way of doing it, thank you again.
Our first 5k came some weeks after graduation but it was amazing, Parkrun can be part walked so run your 30 minutes then brisk walk to the end. if you do that often enough you will find you are getting closer to the end or able to run a bit longer
My plan was to include my warm up and cool down walk too, so it would not be giving up and walking, but following my usual C25k routine. I did C25k during lockdown though, so by the time the parkrun opened up, I had reached 5k of running, so I didn't need to use this trick 😁
I was a bit naughty and ran 5km for W9R3, although only because I’d had a lot of years of running experience and then a break of 18 months before starting the programme. It took me 37 mins at that point and was a pretty comfortable distance by the time I’d completed the 3 weeks of consolidation runs. I think I was doing about 4.2km in the 30 mins by week 9 so with the 10% rule you’d probably get there in 3 weeks too. Good luck!
I did it during the programme but I’ve since realised I was running too fast even though I thought I was running at a very comfortable pace! I don’t always cover 5k in 30 minutes now unless I’m deliberately doing it as a faster run.
My friend who did c25k at the same time as me spent about six weeks to get there. She was running for 30minutes three times a week and found that she gradually covered slightly more distance each time. Then she started adding a couple of minutes on to get to 5k when she was happy she was comfortable doing 30 minutes.
Some people never run 5k in any timescale either during or after C25K, and it is of no consequence.
When you ask such a question you have to decide who you are asking..........one of our female graduates in their eighties, one of our male runners in their twenties, one of our one legged runners, someone with asthma or another who started running to complete a triathlon........they are all on this forum.
Comparison with others is futile. They are not you, do not have your body, diet or lifestyle. So compare yourself to your former non running self and be realistic about your expectations.
I was more than twice your age when I first did C25k and I did achieve 5k in 30 minutes during the plan, but then I was probably fitter than the average forum member. That target is a wholly arbitrary distance/time combination and proves nothing. Your PB is your PB and you should be proud of it.........not compare yourself to others.
You don't have to be able to run 5k to take part in parkrun. Many walk the entire distance. This FAQ Post about parkrun may help healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
"What week did people see an increase in the distance?"
As it stands, you are doing ABSOLUTELY FINE.
You do realise that the duration of your runs will increase now, which means that your distance will naturally increase?
If you're doing 3.5k currently having done W6R2 , which is a workout of 23 minutes (excluding the 5 min warm-up and cool-down walks) then it stands to reason that W6R3 (25 minutes of running with no walking) will see you doing either the same or a bit more distance)
Week 7 consists of 3 runs of 25 minutes
Week 8 is 3x 28 mins
Week 9 is 3x 30 mins
So if you keep increasing the duration of the run, then you will , normally, increase your distance ... yes?
You will have NO PROBLEM reaching 5k and it will happen sooner than you think - and there are several ways to go about it if you end up doing, for example, 4.2k in 30 minutes initially.
Once you've graduated , we recommend a few weeks of doing 3x 30 minutes and then you can start to gradually increase the lengths of your runs (in the exact same way as Weeks 7, 8 and 9, i.e. "a little bit extra each week") so eventually, perhaps only in, say, a notional Week 10, 11 or 12 (i.e. extra weeks you've added on yourself with longer runs) you'll easily and comfortably reach 5k.
I made things simple SlowSober by refusing to measure any distance until I'd completed C25K! That was at the end of June 2020 and, unhelpfully, I've no idea how long after graduation I first ran 5k.
Nowadays I use Strava, and have a Garmin running watch. However, I found I was getting too hung up on stats, and always comparing myself negatively to others. So now I don't record all my runs, because if I don't have the data, I can't fret over it!
Route planning isn't my forte either. During C25K and consolidation I just added bits on when I needed to, and did longer cooldown walks to get back home. Occasionally it went a bit pear-shaped, but it had the advantage of teaching me to listen to my body and to rely on myself, not just the numbers. That's come in very handy since.
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I haven't a clue how much distance I'm covering during each run! But then I'm not very tech savvy so running gadgets intimidate me. I plan to get something very basic once I graduate and consolidate so that I can then have a new goal of reaching 5k. Will be asking for advice here when the time comes. For now, ignorance is bliss!
Data is great when used wisely, and the one time that I was training for an event I was much more careful about pace, distance and time run.
However, when I realised that my feelings about a run were being affected by what Garmin's algorithm said about it, or its impact on my ranking in a Strava club or challenge, I decided enough was enough.
I also have the good fortune to live in beautiful mid-mountain countryside, so I'd rather be taking in my surroundings than looking at my watch all the time.
I don’t know if this helps (I also don’t want to get shot!!) but for each of my runs for C25K I do 5km. Let me explain.
I used to run 5km-8km quite regularly but then I had open heart surgery. I’ve gone back to the C25K program but I make sure that I cover 5km on each session by doing the warm up walk and doing the run/walk section twice or 1.5 times and then the cool down walk so I cover the distance in my session. So for example yesterday (I’m only on week 3) I did the warm up walk, the intervals twice and the warm down walk and covered 5.2km and it took me 44mins.
So hopefully, from past experience of using the program I’ll get to a point where I can do 5km solid running and then use that to build up to 8km over time.
Hello, in my own graduation post, I made a comment of being a teeny bit disappointed with my final distance of just 3K. I regret this, because 6 weeks into consolidation, I don't care much anymore. The sheer pleasure of tootling about, seeing wildlife, getting fitter and stronger and generally just chilling out, is just wonderful. I think you are doing amazing and I've no doubt you will reach your dream of a 5K parkrun. 👏
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