Good morning running people....
The forum is fairly quiet at the moment.. folk on their holidays and life generally, but there are beginning to appear, quite a few new runners beginning the C25K programme and in their posts and those of folk who are moving through the first weeks of C25K, yet again the worries and the questions , are appearing.... and they are all about speed...
The first thing I would like to make very clear to all our runners is....
C25K... is... C25K is the title of the programme... BUT... it is just the name.
You do not, NOT, have to reach 5K in 30 minutes in Nine weeks.
You are , if you follow the plan... after nine weeks, ( or maybe longer if life gets in the way), going to be able to run comfortably for 30 minutes
Simple!
Now, I have posted the following many, many times and I feel no shame in posting it again...
I really really hope that those of you who have any concerns about your running pace will read it
“My mantra is and always has been, slow and steady. It works for me.
My 'slow' pace, has, of course, quite naturally, increased over the now, nearly 8 years since I began running, but it still is, my, slow and steady. My slow is not your slow, my slow is not the slow of some of our forum friends who move much faster then I, it is my happy pace, and wonderfully, we all have our own !
My speed is mine and mine alone.”
[Yet again these last couple of weeks, I am picking up on comments and worries about, Speed. Speed, distance and time.]
“I have read many posts which have, somewhere in the title; “...going too slowly”, or “ nowhere near 5K “, or,”... not fast enough”. This sort of post appears a heck of a lot. And I often think that we ought to compile a library of those posts and the answers to all of them. I have written oodles of posts about speed and time and distance, over the years. Posts intended to encourage and hearten anyone who feels that they are not succeeding with their running, or not doing, it right, or somehow, dare I use the word we really do NOT use on the forums... FAILING ! EEEK!
The simple answer, to all of the questioning, self-doubting, anxious and sometimes distressing posts, which contain the message, “ Am I too slow...”, is the same.
No. You are not.
In this instance... too slow, does not enter the equation.
You are running through the C25K programme. It is structured, well-planned, and designed to get you to 30 minutes continuous running, steadily, safely, injury free and enjoyably. [ Yes, enjoying it ] !
For some, and it will not be many... it may enable them to reach 5K in 30 minutes. For some, not all, and in fact, the polls we have run on the forums over the years, indicate that the Majority do not reach 5K. It is not a requirement to Graduate from the programme.
So. Having set that all out here... now you know.
You have not got to reach 5K..and you have certainly not to try to push yourselves so hard that the whole programme becomes a worrisome thing. That really is not what it is all about. A phrase I read years ago, in a reply to one of the anxious post stated, “...the programme is for enjoyment, not endurance”. How true.
You need a well as running, to READ. Read the essential, How to run C25K post...
healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
.... dip into it, if you have a question, follow the links to different bits of advice and, really importantly...
… Read other folk's posts, read the posts on here of your fellow runners... read the posts of more experienced runners, pop in here and read what other folk are feeling or doing.
But, be confident in the knowledge that if you trust in and follow the plan, week by week, ( even if it takes you longer than nine weeks), then you will, find, by realising and settling into YOUR own happy pace, you will reach the Graduation Podium, able to run confidently for 30 minutes; an injury free, relaxed and happy runner!
So, lecture over. [ Not really a lecture...just some gentle advice].
If you are struggling for any reason, then share that too. I share my problems all the time. Someone here will have felt the same, is feeling the same, or maybe. is going to feel the same, and we can help each other by giving our support and our advice too.
A problem shared, is a problem halved.
Looking forward to welcoming you and sharing your runs. Hoping too that this will help some folk to stop worrying.
Oldfloss x
P.S.
I am linking to a post, about speed, that I wrote yonks ago, just to show you that I am a real runner, just like everyone here, not simply, a weird old lady in a wooden garden shed!
I run and I have issues... I make mistakes and I pay the price, BUT, I trust in the advice of those friends on the forums here, and I share my running disasters with them. There is always someone who can help and advise. We are so, so lucky!
Finally...... 
Setting people up to feel they've failed
