How far do you run/walk in the early weeks? - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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How far do you run/walk in the early weeks?

jrwtc profile image
jrwtcGraduate
7 Replies

Hello all. I have just started C25K and am on week 2. (I was so unfit I did week 1 three times....) . I am tracking how far I walk/run on geodistance and today, including the warm up/down walks I travelled 3.9 km. Is this too short a distance? Should I carry on walking at the end of the warm down? Or is this about right for the early weeks? I can see that I will be ready to progress to week 3 next week, and my first 'run' (stagger) was only 2.2 km so I am improving.

Glad of any info thank you.

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jrwtc profile image
jrwtc
Graduate
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7 Replies
PeaBea profile image
PeaBeaGraduate

I have only just competed W2R! (yesterday) and my time was 2.18km for the run and 3.16 including warm up/cool down. I am not that bothered about speed at the moment but just pleased with myself that I can run albeit for onlu 90 seconds at a time - the last time I ran was about 40 years ago!!!

notbad profile image
notbadGraduate

I wouldn't worry about distance & speed at this stage, it's very early days & your body will still be getting used to running. As long as you're following the podcast you'll be on track, no need to do any extra walking unless you want to that is. :-)

Rollertoaster profile image
RollertoasterGraduate

I would agree not to worry about speed now. I found in early runs that my walking was faster than my running anyway so it was pointless thinking about it! :)

Nevertoolate profile image
NevertoolateGraduate

Congratulations on completing week one! As the others say, don't worry about distance at this stage. The important thing is to get through the programme. Its such a struggle for most of us that the distance is the least of our worries. Some people have commented that the NHS should have called this C230minutes instead of C25K, but the latter is catchier. The aim is to run for 30 minutes and then see about the 5k later. Well done you anyway and good luck for the next runs.

jazz15c profile image
jazz15cGraduate

It's kind of a 'how long is piece of string' question...what's good for one person may or may not work for you.

Just feeling active may be enough at this early stage, NeverTooLate's comment above seems pretty spot on though.

Good luck with it all

earl-grey-sian profile image
earl-grey-sianGraduate

Week one: 3.3km in 30 minutes. No idea whether that is fast, slow, short distance or long.

RainbowC profile image
RainbowCGraduate

I know I covered more distance in the first few weeks than in the middle ones - now quite sure how that works, but the stats are there...! Now I'm gradually increasing my distance, but still concentrating on just getting through each run. I look at my pace, distance etc. so I can reassure myself that I am improving, and although I know that I'm not going to achieve 5k in 30 mins in the next two weeks (when I should hopefully graduate), since I intend to carry on running, I can work on improving speed in the future.

In short - as others have said, don't worry about distance, pace and all that for now. Just go at a pace that is manageable for you - the rest will happen. :)

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