c25k - Have you skipped weeks?
NewMeowLean
Posts: 58
Hello. So I started c25k this Monday and started at week 2. I found it not so difficult so on Wednesday I did week 3 (instead of week 2 day 2) and it wasn't so difficult either, sometimes I continued running when I was supposed to walk so I am thinking of doing week 4 tomorrow or ditching the program and just run.
However I am afraid of:
1) Not having a goal and losing motivation
2) Pushing myself too hard and losing motivation or hurting myself
I am a couch potato alright but I am also not overweight (which helps for running) and young (24) and I don't smoke.
Have any of you started running using another program or skipped weeks of this program?
However I am afraid of:
1) Not having a goal and losing motivation
2) Pushing myself too hard and losing motivation or hurting myself
I am a couch potato alright but I am also not overweight (which helps for running) and young (24) and I don't smoke.
Have any of you started running using another program or skipped weeks of this program?
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Replies
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I had an urge to do the same as the first few weeks didn't seem that challenging. In the end I decided not to as I wasn't in any real rush due to an upcoming event etc and put my trust in the programme.
I don't think there is any harm in doing so as long as you are sensible about it and ensure you give your body sufficient time to get used to the demands you are placing on it. That might be hard to know however if you are not used to training in general. I guess it depends on you.0 -
Well you still have the goal of running 5k so I don't think it really matters how you get there as long as your sensible about it. Why not try week 4 and see how it goes and then if it feels like a good level continue from there. As long as you have rest days and don't try going too fast you should be ok. I finally ran 5k for the 1st time today - it was extremely slow but I did it yay!0
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I started at Week 2, because Week 1 was way too easy. I don't think it matters where you start in the program. Try Week 4 and see how it goes.
I would be cautious about skipping a program and just running as much as possible every day. You could possibly injure yourself.0 -
I'm really not a fan of C25K. I don't like the run/walk method personally. I originally did it for my first 5K 6 years ago but had a lot of trouble with it. I was just trying to run too fast so that I was desperate for the walking breaks, and then it was really hard to get running again. When I trained for my first 10K, I focused on pacing myself so that I wouldn't get too tired. If I started to get winded/tired, I would slow down. Sometimes people walking would pass me while I was "running" but I learned to let go of my pride during those moments, haha.
I trained for my half marathon this way as well. I added no more than 10% to my milage each week and I ran slowwwww. You really want to run at a speed where you can hold a conversation with a friend and you feel like you could run forever. My speed improved as my distance grew and I got more milage under my feet.
Moral of the story, C25K is great for some people but not everyone. It seems like you would benefit from just slowly adding distance to your runs. As far as losing motivation, make your own training plan. Make sure it's VERY attainable distances each week (to avoid injury and getting overwhelmed and losing motivation...I made this mistake with my first 10K training plan until I scraped it and made a new one). I just found a calendar template in Word and typed in my workouts. I put it on my fridge and check off each workout as I do them. It makes me feel like I'm reaching the goals I set for myself and it's pretty awesome to look back to when I started and see how much I've improved. 0 -
alpine1994 wrote: »I was just trying to run too fast so that I was desperate for the walking breaks, and then it was really hard to get running again.
That wasn't the fault of the plan though.
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Thank you for your advice. I will start with week 4 and see how it goes. As for distance, I cannot measure it, but I have a watch so I can measure time. If I wanted to "slowly add time" to my running, would 10% a week be a good goal?0
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trinatrina1984 wrote: »Well you still have the goal of running 5k so I don't think it really matters how you get there as long as your sensible about it. Why not try week 4 and see how it goes and then if it feels like a good level continue from there. As long as you have rest days and don't try going too fast you should be ok. I finally ran 5k for the 1st time today - it was extremely slow but I did it yay!
Congratulations on running your first 5k! I hope to do it in a few weeks!0 -
1) Not having a goal and losing motivation
So set yourself a reasonable goal, and work towards it.2) Pushing myself too hard and losing motivation or hurting myself
This is your bigger risk of not using a structure of some kind.
In practice the first 4 weeks are pretty straightforward, they give you a chance to work out your form, get used to pacing yourself and they start to build the required strength around the joints that the later weeks will start to put under some stress.
By skipping forward you do increase your risk of injury slightly, but as long as you're reasonable about progression then your risk is mitigated.
For me the biggest benefit of C25K is that from day one you're out there for 40 minutes, and then you just increase the proportion of that time that you're running for. If you wing it you might find yourself out there for ten minutes and that's you wiped. So progression is a bit more assured using the plan.
That said, as upthread, after I'd finished C25K and spent some weeks consolidating I went onto a 10K plan that was run/ walk again. At that point run/ walk really didn't work for me and I ended up shifting focus to a performance improvement plan.
The only rule is that you try not to get injured.0 -
trinatrina1984 wrote: »Well you still have the goal of running 5k so I don't think it really matters how you get there as long as your sensible about it. Why not try week 4 and see how it goes and then if it feels like a good level continue from there. As long as you have rest days and don't try going too fast you should be ok. I finally ran 5k for the 1st time today - it was extremely slow but I did it yay!
Congratulations on running your first 5k! I hope to do it in a few weeks!
Thanks! seriously if I can do it anyone can, good luck 0 -
If you are able to run 2 miles straight you may benefit from a different program which would provide structure, but would still be challenging. Try this one:
http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/RunnersEdge/5K10K2.html0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »1) Not having a goal and losing motivation
So set yourself a reasonable goal, and work towards it.2) Pushing myself too hard and losing motivation or hurting myself
This is your bigger risk of not using a structure of some kind.
In practice the first 4 weeks are pretty straightforward, they give you a chance to work out your form, get used to pacing yourself and they start to build the required strength around the joints that the later weeks will start to put under some stress.
By skipping forward you do increase your risk of injury slightly, but as long as you're reasonable about progression then your risk is mitigated.
For me the biggest benefit of C25K is that from day one you're out there for 40 minutes, and then you just increase the proportion of that time that you're running for. If you wing it you might find yourself out there for ten minutes and that's you wiped. So progression is a bit more assured using the plan.
That said, as upthread, after I'd finished C25K and spent some weeks consolidating I went onto a 10K plan that was run/ walk again. At that point run/ walk really didn't work for me and I ended up shifting focus to a performance improvement plan.
The only rule is that you try not to get injured.
This for sure.
The C25K app I used was Zombies, Run. At the beginning and end of each session there was a 5-10 minute walk or run - your choice. When I started to find things feeling easy, I just ended up running the end and beginning run/walk sections for as long as I felt good. If I started getting tired, I'd drop back to a walk. It didn't take long before I was running the beginning and end sections easily, but by then the program had 15+ minute running intervals. If I was still feeling really good toward the end, I'd run through the last walking interval, but otherwise I was happy to be patient and follow the schedule.0 -
Hello. So I started c25k this Monday and started at week 2. I found it not so difficult so on Wednesday I did week 3 (instead of week 2 day 2) and it wasn't so difficult either, sometimes I continued running when I was supposed to walk so I am thinking of doing week 4 tomorrow or ditching the program and just run.
However I am afraid of:
1) Not having a goal and losing motivation
2) Pushing myself too hard and losing motivation or hurting myself
I am a couch potato alright but I am also not overweight (which helps for running) and young (24) and I don't smoke.
Have any of you started running using another program or skipped weeks of this program?
The answer completely depends on the shape you are in to begin with.
Some people skip the entire program and run a 5k (or more) on day one (because their endurance is already developed from swimming, cycling or some other activity).
Other people may need to repeat a certain day/week multiple times.
In general, the slower you increase mileage/speed the lesser the risk of injury. You know you body better than anyone else. I see nothing wrong with skipping weeks if you feel you can handle it. If you are unsure, then be cautious and take things slow.
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If I could run two miles, I would be happy.0
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When I first started running it was with C25K. I found every week pretty challenging but not insurmountable. Since then I've taken time off from running. But every time I come back to it, I start with some form of modified C25K. Whether that's completely starting over, or doing 5 minutes intervals and working from there. Just depends on how I feel.
In any training, whether it's running or weight training, you have to find that fine line where you're being challenged, but not so much so that you can injure yourself. That means a lot of trail and error. So, if C25K as it's written doesn't challenge you...move along until you are challenged.0 -
I used C25K and rather than skipping days I just did multiple days in the same outing (sometimes the whole week). When I got into the later weeks I found 2 days was enough and then I would add my favorite day which was run 10, walk 3, run 10 to finish. That was over two years ago and I am still runing 4 - 5 days a week. Just be sure you are not increasing your weekly mileage too fast so as not to get injured. Run strong; stay healthy!0
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MinimalistShoeAddict wrote: »Some people skip the entire program and run a 5k (or more) on day one (because their endurance is already developed from swimming, cycling or some other activity).
As a long-distance cyclist, I might have been able to do that, albeit at a slow pace. But I did the whole C25K program from beginning to end, in order to avoid injuring myself. Cycling is great for cardiovascular fitness, but it doesn't stress the joints the way that running does.
OP, if you do skip weeks, listen to your body and back off if anything seems amiss beyond normal post-exercise fatigue.0 -
The biggest thing is to make sure you're aren't increasing your mileage too quickly. You need to give your body a chance to adjust to the demands you are placing on it. The rule of thumb with running is not to increase total mileage by more than 10% each week. So if you're running 1 mile x 3 days = 3 miles this week, you shouldn't be running more than 3.3 miles next week. I'd hesitate to skip too far ahead in the program for that reason.0
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10% per week is a good estimate of how much to increase mileage. I personally love the program. I have not skipped weeks, but I'm also overweight (original goal was to lose 102 lbs). I've had to repeat days many times. I'm finally on Week 8, Day 2. I'm hoping to finish the program by the end of October. Having said that, I've already done 4 5Ks. That probably has something to do with why I've had to repeate.0
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I personally did not like c25k for the exact opposite reason, because as an obese person some weeks are quite a jump in running time that was too hard to handle for my knees and shins (going from 5 minutes max one week to a straight 20 minutes the next was just something I did not want to risk doing). I did an alternative program which included a smoother progression, but was still a challenge. Even that I had to tweak some on longer running days. Ultimately, whatever works for you. You can jump to week 3 if you are already beyond the level of weeks 1 and 2, but structure is great to avoid injury.0
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Thank you for all your answers.
As a follow up: I planned to do week 4, and go from there. I don't know what happened but the app was set to week 2. I noticed that after the warmup and it really annoyed me and couldn't bother to go to week 4 and start the work out again so I just ran for 20 minutes. So this week I am running 20 minutes 3x and next week I will run 22 min 3x as to not add more that 10% each week.
The only issue being that I am a very slow runner! I think I run at the same speed as I walk (I am a fast walker though). With c25k I was running a bit faster since I only had to run for a few minutes at a time. I hope with time I will get faster.0 -
Focus on endurance now; speed will come later. If you'd prefer, try to incorporate some different running strategies on different runs. Many people do two short runs during the week and one long run on the weekend. Keep in mind that the 10% rule applies to weekly mileage so if you wanted to do this you'd need to shorten your weekday runs to lengthen the weekend run. Then you can do one shorter run where you try to run faster or perhaps even do intervals where you're "sprinting" for a minute followed by a couple of minute of "jogging". Running up hills will help you increase your speed so the other weekday run could be runs up and down the same hill or on a course that is very hilly. Then you do a long, slow run on the weekends.0
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It is really good news that running uphill is good for speed because I am either running uphill or downhill. There are no flat streets in my town. Why does running uphill increase my speed?
Sprinting then jogging is out of the question for now lol... after a sprint I would have to walk! I think I will first focus on running for 30-45 min straight and then try intervals. But it's a good idea to have 2 short and one long run so I can go a bit faster during the short runs.0 -
Sadly, I live in an area that's really, really flat. I either have to drive a ways to get to a big hill or use the treadmill for my hill runs. The answer to why running uphill will increase your speed is a bit complicated, so here are some websites that should help answer the question and offer some advice and specific training regimens.
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/speed-training-how-hill-running-will-make-an-athlete-faster-265#
http://strengthrunning.com/2011/08/benefits-of-hill-running/
http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/mastering-hill-workouts
Oh, and for sprints, there's nothing wrong with sprinting and then walking. In fact, at the end of your short runs, throw in a few sprint/walk intervals. I'll often do 15 seconds sprint, 30 seconds walk three or four times. You'll get the biggest increases in endurance during the last part of a run, when you're tired. A few sprint intervals will help push that even further.0 -
MinimalistShoeAddict wrote: »Hello. So I started c25k this Monday and started at week 2. I found it not so difficult so on Wednesday I did week 3 (instead of week 2 day 2) and it wasn't so difficult either, sometimes I continued running when I was supposed to walk so I am thinking of doing week 4 tomorrow or ditching the program and just run.
However I am afraid of:
1) Not having a goal and losing motivation
2) Pushing myself too hard and losing motivation or hurting myself
I am a couch potato alright but I am also not overweight (which helps for running) and young (24) and I don't smoke.
Have any of you started running using another program or skipped weeks of this program?
The answer completely depends on the shape you are in to begin with.
Some people skip the entire program and run a 5k (or more) on day one (because their endurance is already developed from swimming, cycling or some other activity).
Other people may need to repeat a certain day/week multiple times.
In general, the slower you increase mileage/speed the lesser the risk of injury. You know you body better than anyone else. I see nothing wrong with skipping weeks if you feel you can handle it. If you are unsure, then be cautious and take things slow.
^this
When I was in my 20s, I could easily run a 5k without any kind of preparation.
As a 40ish year old returning to physical activity after more than a decade off, that approach would have led me right into an injury...or I assume it would as a far more conservative approach still led me right into an injury.
Ultimately, you have to figure out what makes sense for you. I'd recommend following the plan as written. At worst, you're a few weeks behind where you could have been. At best, you're avoiding an injury that could put you months (or more) behind.0
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