A week or so ago I made a thread here about how I was in week 4 and I couldn't find a conversational pace no matter how slow I went. Well, I still can't. But I'm okay with that for now and I'm keeping the work to get to that level of fitness eventually.
Today I finished the dreaded 3rd day of week 5. The one where you run 20 min non stop. I've been looking at this day in the program since I started and always thinking it was a huge jump to suddenly do 20 min. But now that I actually went for it, things took a turn into a direction I wasn't expecting at all.
For starters, I misjudged my pace. I ran too slow for what I'm used to and had an average pace of 9m per km (going too slow doesn't mean I can have a conversation by the way, I never can) and when the 20 min alarm hit I had to double check my clock because it felt like I had ran only 10.
The thing is I didn't stop running while I checked and I continued to run after checking. Going over the program is something I was doing before finding this forum and I haven't done at all after reading some info here. Been forcing myself to stop so I stick to the program by the letter. Well I couldn't do that today for some reason. Probably a mindset thing with some personal stuff going on with life and me just being upset/irritated in general. Anyway, I kept running and at some point I decided I should just try 5k because I was close.
Long story short, I ended up running a little bit over 5k in 44 minutes. The average pace according to the app was 8m40s per km at the end. There is some happiness for what is to me personally an accomplishment, but I also have a really strong feeling of being lost and upset with myself. I'm very unsure about this program right now because the goal was supposedly to run 5k which I did today (or to run 30min which I did quite a bit more) but I'm on week 5 and there is still quite a bit to go in the program.
I don't know now if I want to continue with this and keep the mentality of trying to stick to the program by the letter (again, today was an exception because I really have been keeping to the program regardless of how much I wanted to do more on past days) or if I should just drop the program and work on trying to keep 5k and lower the time from now on. Or maybe try to keep to 30m and increase the distance I do in that time.
I've always been looking forward to completing the program but now I've gone and basically spoiled things for myself. Anyway, just more or less venting, sharing some thoughts.
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AriadnesThread
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The most sensible thing would be to go back to the program and continue to follow it to graduation. It’s really easy as a new runner to pick up overuse injuries, often without warning, and you don’t want that to stop you from running as you want to in the future.
It sounds like today, you managed to find a pace that allowed you to run comfortably for 20 minutes which is great! It’s hard to stop when you feel like you’ve got more in you but it’s best to dig deep and drop back to a walk. That’s a good time to congratulate yourself on your run and your willpower in stopping!
You’re the one who is in control of where you go from here. It would be a shame to lose the progress you’ve made by pushing too far too early and ending up on the injury couch. I guess now you have to decide if that’s a risk you want to take. We can only advise based on the experiences of others who have ended up injured and frustrated.
Congratulations on completing run 3 of week 5, that is a milestone run with C25K, however, after the No. 1 rule of C25K which is not to run on consecutive days as that could cause a injury, the No. 2 rule is to keep strictly to the program, by running a full 5K before you graduate is likely to cause a injury, good luck for your running journey with C25K but keep to the program, onwards and upwards to week 6 👍✅
This is probably heresy, but I wouldn’t get hung up on trying to talk as you run. It clearly isn’t working for you, for whatever reason. I always saw that advice as helping me to slow down so that I could keep running for the allotted time; it worked for me. You clearly have no problem in running for the allotted time. The risk, as MissUnderstanding points out, is that you do too much too early in the programme and get an injury because your muscles tendons and bones are not used to bearing the heavy loadings which running imposes. Injuries can appear suddenly…and then you have to stop whilst you heal. So, why not just try to run as steadily as you can, and hit the time milestones in the programme. It worked for lots of us. You are doing amazingly well; enjoy it 🙂
I think this is really put well! Last time @AriadnesThread, you were talking about feeling “totally busted” at the end of your runs so you’ve made some serious progress to be feeling good enough to feel you can carry on easily at the end of a twenty minute jog. I’d be channelling that pace for your next runs. Take some time think really hard about what it felt like as you ran and hold on to that for next time.
Week 6 is back to run/walk intervals which sometimes catches people out. It’s worth keeping it super steady to help those runs feel as comfortable as you can make them. Maybe think about how you’ll handle the end of the run in advance so you know what words to tell yourself!
This might not be what you want to hear @AriadnesThread, but I'm also going to suggest that you stick to the programme, rather than risk picking up an overuse injury.
You don't need to do 5k from now on. Nor do you need to run for thirty minutes from now on, let alone increase the distance you cover in that time. Being able to run comfortably doesn't mean you're running too slowly. It means that you're giving yourself the best chance to develop as a runner.
You haven't spoiled things for yourself. You're a fraction of my age, so I very much hope that you have many years of life ahead of you. That also means you have plenty of time to develop as a runner, and to increase your speed and distance, if that's what you want.
Back in 2008 I joined colleagues for a newly launched 5k charity fun run. I ran the whole thing, struggling, panting throughout, desperately thirsty and aching madly. I was proud of my achievement but I needed several days to recover and it convinced me I wasn't a runner. Never had been, never would be.
Fast-forward to mid-May 2020, when France's first lockdown finally ended. I'd been walking a lot in the hilly forest next to our house, but was desperate to get out and about. On hearing that a decidedly unsporty UK friend had done C25K, I decided I couldn't possibly be outdone, so I gave it a go.
I found the early weeks relatively easy, but forced myself to stick to the programme. Just as well, because when I got to weeks 7 and 8 the couple of additional minutes suddenly felt like a whole lot more. It was week 9 before it dawned on me that C25K was just the beginning and that I had - and still have - a whole lot to learn about running.
I love quick results, dislike training plans, and am very bad at doing things gradually and incrementally. But I'm glad I didn't ditch C25K, because for me it turned out to be the first stage of my going from non-runner to trail marathon finisher.
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