Where to go from here... advice please!

[barrygarlow]

W6R3. I struggled a bit halfway through this 25minute run, but I stuck in there and went for it. Started feeling better towards the end and pushed on for an extra minute. To my delight, when I checked my phone I was just shy of 5k. Made the decision to push on and completed 5k in 26 minutes and 40 seconds! C25k in 6 weeks, who would have thought!

Question is, where do I go from here? Should I go back to sticking rigidly to the programme for the next few weeks (ie 3 25 min runs, 3 28 Mins and then 30mins) or do I continue running 5ks for the next few weeks before building up the distance (looking to get 10k level) . Not sure how to go about it since wasn't expecting to get to 5k already! I am going to do my first parkrun next weekend so looking forward to that.

[Hidden]

Firstly, congratulations on your progress.

You could reset your personal challenge to running for a constant 30 minutes rather than distance and carry on, your going to need to get some mileage in your legs before moving on to quickly.

Try not to push too hard too quickly at adding extra distance, as injury is a risk, try to keep to increases of about 10% per week. I know I got injuries from doing too much to soon and had to have a few weeks off.

Good luck and enjoy the journey

[dottiemay Graduate]

Wow - that is some achievement, well done!

The thing to remember is that can take quite some time for your body to adjust to the demands running makes on it. If you try to push on too far too quickly you are very likely to suffer injuries.

It's wonderful when you find that you can run faster/further than you ever thought and very tempting to keep pushing yourself but at this stage I'd stick to building slowly and steadily. I'm sure an extra few minutes won't hurt but neither will following the programme to the end!

Good luck with the Park Run!

[Mitts Graduate]

Agree. The 10% rule seems to be the one to follow, increase by max 10% per week. It's people (like me... ) who don't follow this who often end up injured. Do as I say and not as I did!

[barrygarlow Graduate]

Thanks for the advice all. I will definitely build slowly, since it is in my nature to push myself but I don't want an injury!

[greenlegs Graduate]

Blimey - that's fast! Well done. Good advice from all the above too. It's very easy to overdo it without realising in the early stages.