Post graduation run

[KayJayRose]

Hi all, I’m about to embark on my first post - graduation run. In order to improve my fitness and speed levels (so I can eventually do the full 5k in the 30 mins) I’m thinking of going back and repeating some of the much earlier runs - the ones with walks and runs - and trying to sprint the 1 minute runs (I usually jog my 30 mins at a steady pace and push it for the last minute). Has anyone else done this? Was it helpful? Is it part of consolidation? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you 😊

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Consolidation as explained in the programme guide would be to continue running the 30 minutes you achieved in week 9 for several weeks so you become comfortable with them before pushing on by trying to increase distance or pace.

You are a new runner, trying to improve your pace at this stage is a big risk

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

Thank you. That makes sense. I will continue with my 30 min jogs for a few weeks

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Many people have said that they were intending to do as you propose, but despite asking if they could keep us posted as to the success, nobody has ever reported back.

I suspect that they come up against it when they progress to W5 and continuous running.

You might benefit from reading the FAQ Posts about post C25k running healthunlocked.com/couchto5... which explains consolidation and the one about getting faster healthunlocked.com/couchto5... which may help you create a training regime that works for your aims.

Running 5k in 30 minutes is a totally arbitrary combination which many people never achieve and it is only a sensible target if it is realistically within your physical ability. I wouldn't get hung up on it .

You, hopefully, have a lifetime of running to improve your speed, but at this stage building strength and injury resistance is far more important.

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thank you for your response, it makes a lot of sense. I will continue to do my 30 mins for a few weeks and see how I get on. 😊

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Yours is a common idea.

Concentrate on first getting your consolidation done - a few weeks of 3x 30 mins. If you like, it's no problem to extend 1 run per week by a few mins, just like you did in Weeks 7, 8 and 9 of C25K.

After that, if you can find it, try the 'Speed' C25K+ podcast - which is more or less based on W1R1 but exactly as you say.

1 minute intervals are good - but I wouldn't, for the moment, extend them. Keep that as a session to do once per week or every 2 weeks.

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to John_W]

Thanks for your reply. I have been convinced that I need to continue my 30 mins runs for a while as I am. It makes sense and I might be able to reach that golden 5k in 30 mins just by building up the runs 🤞🤞

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to KayJayRose]

Simply by the method of adding on "a little bit extra each week" you will reach 5k. That may take 32, 34, 36, 40 or 48 minutes initially.

For now, I wouldn't focus on speed and getting it done in 30 minutes. Instead, continue with the C25K method of running by time , not distance, and gradually increase the duration of runs.

That alone will be a new stimuli to the body and increase your fitness further and also help your speed.

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to John_W]

Great advice. Thank you 😊

[nowster Graduate]

My first run post-graduation was actually shorter and slower than my graduation run. I enjoyed it, in spite of the sprained ankle that I was making worse.

After graduation you're encouraged to continue doing half hour runs for a few weeks. The reason for this is to allow the rest of your legs to catch up with the rapid progress your leg muscles have made in the previous nine weeks.

They don't all need to be 30 minutes. You can do shorter runs. You can do slower runs. Just don't exceed 30 minutes for a few weeks.

And to increase your distance the safest way is to work on gradually increasing the duration of your runs. Trying to push faster has a higher risk of injury. Speed will come naturally out of increasing fitness by running for longer.

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to nowster]

Thank you for your insight. I think I will just continue to do 30 mins for the time being and see how I get on. I hope your ankle injury has healed now. 😊

[Floradora2 Graduate]

I did a week of 30 minute runs and then did the stepping stones podcast for a week. I then followed that up with the stamina podcast for a week which is 35 minutes running. Both podcasts may well be at a slower pace than you’re used to which I found a bit difficult at first but the advantage was that I wasn’t out of breath at all. Probably shows I was running too fast. I am trying to build up to 40 minutes now but am finding it difficult to find anything I like listening to which will give me info on how long I’ve been running for.

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to Floradora2]

Thanks for your advice. I’ll have a look for those podcasts. Good luck on finding something else to listen to… tricky isn’t it

[Yesletsgo Graduate]

Are you near 5k in 30 minutes? Thanks to this forum it's not a target I'm aspiring to any time soon (but that's because as a 60+, short and slightly overweight woman it is way beyond my comfort zone ). Not everyone will achieve 5k in 30 minutes, but that's OK. This isn't meant to sound negative by the way, quite the opposite.The speed that is doable for 5k will depend on lots of factors - gender, age, height, weight, fitness and probably lots more. When I did my first 5k, a few weeks after graduating C25K, it took me around 45 minutes. 10 months on my PB is just under 37 minutes. For me to get any faster would take loads of training. I'm not saying it won't be possible but it's not something I fret over.

Instead of fixating on 5k in 30 minutes I'm enjoying the challenge of longer runs, speed runs, intervals, fartleks, all of which have really added to my enjoyment of running for its own sake. Once the novelty of running for yourself, not an app, wears off it's really good to shake things up by changing what you do.

Good luck with the future runs!

[KayJayRose Graduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

Hi thanks for your reply. I usually manage around 4k in 30 mins, so calculating how long it’ll take me to do 5k, I think it will be around 37 - 38 mins. However I get your point about “not fretting”. Although a lot of people have said they need a motivation factor after they graduate and I think managing to run 5k will definitely be my long term goal - although I’m not too bothered how long it takes me to actually be able to manage to run 38 mins! Good luck with your running too and thank you for your advice! Im off to look up what fartleks are now! 😊

[Yesletsgo Graduate in reply to KayJayRose]

Every day's a schoolday KayJayRose