Are you supposed to run 5k to begin with?

[gaslightanthem]

I guess what I mean is, are you supposed to cover 5k whilst running and walking on week 1?

I want to take it slow but I'm getting bored and decided to run home (after the podcast finished) and managed a solid 15 minutes before feeling particularly tired and walking the last part of the way.

[pingle Graduate]

Oh my goodness you're obviously well on your way already! The programme is designed to get folks from not doing any running at all to running for a solid 30 minutes. If you're already running regularly then you should be able to motor through. One slight word of warning tho. Even if you have good cardiovascular fitness, if you haven't been running regularly you will need to take it easy at first just to let the legs adjust and avoid injury. Lots of folks who swim or cycle find they do need to work through the weeks when they take up running. All that said if you are already superfit, I don't see why you shouldn't skip a few of the early runs! Good luck

[Oldgirl Graduate]

The main aim of the programme is to get people to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping. Many runners don't manage the full 5K even at the end, that distance is usually worked on once you have been able to do 30 minutes. I think I would be right in saying this applies mainly to women who tend to be smaller and have shorter strides than the guys.

If you haven't run before I would advise you work through the early weeks as they are beneficial in building up stamina and getting your leg muscles used to the action. I did the same as you last year and kept on running but I learned the hard way and ended up with very painful inflamed knees and had to rest for 2 weeks so in the end the only thing I gained out of it was pain!!

[gaslightanthem]

Thanks guys, I'll stick with the programme then I think. No point in running way further if it's just going to cause pain!

[henrietta Graduate]

I started on week 5 as before starting the course i could run for 15 mins without stopping, then i stuck to the plan until the end. After that i increased gradually and have now done 4 x 10k runs.