Done it! C25K week 9 run 3, done! 2nd time in 4 years, easier this time round I think and completed in 8 weeks, rather than the 8 months it took me last time 🤣You were all right about Strava, by the way ... what a lying b*****d! It says I ran not as far, and therefore slower, than last Wednesday's run, but as I did the exact same route and reached Wednesday's end point at 24 minutes, that makes no sense at all. So I'm going to go with the total euphoria I felt at running further and it feeling easier, and just ignore Strava.
I'm nowhere near 5k in 30 minutes and I doubt if I ever will be. When I was running before I think the fastest I ever managed was 33 minutes, but that was downhill, with a following wind and a head full of rage about something; anyway that time was never repeated. I'd like to be able to do the full 5k as I've agreed to do Race for Life with a friend on May 14th, so should I just keep increasing my running time in increments of 5 minutes or something, or should I concentrate on getting faster so I get nearer to 5k in 30 minutes? I thought I'd do a couple of repeat 30 minute runs to start with, but any other suggestions very welcome.
I have a couple of technical type questions for anyone who can help;
1. How important is it to eat carbs if you're running? I'm not on a keto diet or anything, I just don't like carby food, so don't eat very much of it and I wonder if it's why I often feel very fatigued when running.
2. Do you know what? I'm so excited about finishing I can't remember what the other things were - I'll come back to it another time! Thank you for all advice and encouragement (both this time and last time when I was here 4 years ago) - much appreciated.
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NettieNoo
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Absolutely fantastic news! Massive congratulations to you-I only wish we could give you a second badge!! Hope you’re doing some serious celebrating 🥳 🏃♀️👩🎓🏅🎉
Your plan to stick at 30 minutes for a few weeks is a really good one. That’s what we’d call “consolidation” and it’ll mean you’re not pushing on too quickly. Your body will strengthen and you’ll be more resistant to an injury straight after graduation which nobody wants!
After that, I’d slowly increase the time of one lf your runs each week until you hit the 5k rather than trying to get faster. Speed often gradually comes with running longer distances over a longer time. A 30 minute 5k can be tough for many brilliant runners. It’s also best not to increase by more than 10% a week. There’s plenty of time to work out the details.
The main thing right now is to celebrate how awesome you are!
We’ll done NN. I too have completed C25K for the 3rd or 4th time but still wasn’t running an actual 5k, but really wanted to. I decided to join Parkrun! Finished C25K in 3rd March and did my first Parkrun 10th March, I came 464th out of 480 runners, took me 39 minutes and I was covered in mud but, I completed my first 5k run. I did another 5k on Monday and again yesterday. My pace was even slower both times at 40 and 41 mins, but I don’t care. I’m not running to get PB’s, I’m running to stay fit and healthy. I’m going to be 69 in a couple of weeks, I’m not boasting merely pointing out the fact. I always used to say to my mum, “ use it or lose it’. I have no intentions of losing it. Listen to your body NN and you do you!
I'm 59 this year and bits of my body are starting to fall off 🤣 but running has actually made some aches and pains much better. I used to do parkrun every week before lockdown and it was really inspirational, but I haven't got enough confidence back yet to try again. I'm thinking about it though 😁 I think 40 minutes ish is a very respectable time, so we'll done, but like you say, the time is not the important thing.
Wahoo! Brilliant stuff Nettie, who cares what time you did. (I think my fastest before injuries was also about 33, and I don't think I'll be that fast again.) I don't know about carbs and fatigue, but I do know that if I haven't hydrated enough in the 24 hours before a run, I find the run harder.
Ah ... hydration, my bete noire. I know I don't drink enough and find it difficult to make myself. My doctor said don't worry ... if you drink when you're thirsty and your pee's pale then you're hydrated enough (and he's a runner) but I think maybe I should try to drink a bit more. I almost NEVER drink water ... horrible stuff 🤣
When I graduated C25K I carried on with the 30 minute runs, but started varying my route to shake things up a bit. A few weeks on, I realised that if I just ran for a little bit longer I'd get my 5k, so I did Never looked back.
And I do so sympathise about wretched gadgets misrecording distances. NRC always puts my Parkrun distance at 4.88km, and when I ran a 10k last year, a proper event with a proper course, both NRC and Garmin said 9.98km. Really annoying, especially as this meant that neither of them gave me their 10k badges. Still, I have a real medal to prove I did it which is enough for me
As to 'proof I did it', I ran a 5k in Russia and the organiser, a good friend of my husband, gave me their half marathon bling when I finished (they had organised a HM alongside the 5k). Of course the writing is in Russian so not many people would know what it says lol.
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