How do I get from Week 8 to actually being able to run 5K?

NancyN795

I finished C25K - on my treadmill - a few weeks ago. But at that point, the total distance I was going was less than 2.5 miles (walking 10 minutes @ 3.4 MPH, running 30 minutes @ 3.8 MPH). While I'm not actually planning on entering a 5K, I would like to actually be able to run 5K. I just not sure how to get there from here. So far, this is what I've done:

• I'm continuing to only run every other day. I walk and/or do Zumba the other days.
• The first week I increased my running time to 32 minutes (and decreased the walking to 8). This is because it's easy to program that into my treadmill so that I don't have to mess with changing the speed while I'm running.
• The next week, I increased my running speed to 4 MPH for 2 minutes out of every 6.
• Then I changed it to running 4 MPH half the time (again, in 2 minute segments, because it's easy to program into the treadmill).
• This week, I increased the time to a total of 45 minutes - 9 minutes walking and 36 minutes running (2:15 minute treadmill segments).

So far, it seems to be working (i.e. I can do it and I haven't noticed any injuries starting), but I thought I might see if anyone more experienced has any advice. Some additional, possibly pertinent, information:

• I'm... not young. Pushing 60, in fact.
• I have never, ever in my life been a runner (or an athlete of any kind). A few weeks ago was the first time in my life I have run for 30 minutes without stopping.
• Although I've lost 75 lbs since I started working on my health and weight 3 years ago, I'm still in the obese range, although "overweight" is in sight.
• I have bad knees, although I've never had a doctor figure out exactly how bad they are. So far, my anecdotal experience is that I need to do Zumba several days a week or I'll end up in a lot of pain (and that is without any running).
• I would like to be able to run every day, as things like Zumba and walking don't get my heart rate up that much any more and take a lot longer to burn significant calories. But, I want to do it safely and I worry about injuries, particularly to my knees.
• At some point - weather permitting - I'm planning on running outside. That's going to be harder because there are significant hills.

mbaker566

i ran longer. I did intervals/fartleks. and i ran a race against my stepdaughter.
longer: i did the bridge to 10k by zen labs. similar program as the c25k
intervals: ran at a normal pace and then either ran faster for a predetermined time or to the next tree or driveway.
race: i found the urge to not let my stepdaughter beat me as a great motivator. she's 14 and I don't think she'd let me live it down

hills will help you run faster too because you will be building muscle.
you can try exercises to build your knees. there are a number routines to be found on the internet
age i find to be irrelevant. 60 year olds beat me at my last race.
i've not been a runner either, but i fell in love with it

make sure you take rest days so your muscles and joints have a chance to recover.

NancyN795

Thanks for the advice.

I'm not really sure what qualifies as an "interval" or how to structure that. Thus, my attempt to just gradually increase my speed and time.

I didn't want to go on to the bridge to 10K program until I could run 5K. Then I might give it a try. It frustrates me that the C25k program just assumes that it actually gets you to the point of running a 5K. I guess it would if you did it by distance rather than time, but I don't have a good way to do that (unless there's a C25K app that uses GPS, rather than time, to tell you when to run and when to walk).

I don't have anyone to race and I don't think that would motivate me anyway. I've spent too much of my life being humiliated when attempting anything athletic to want to compete with anyone. When my husband and I go for our almost daily 3-4 mile walks (with a 200-380 ft elevation gain during the first half of the walk) we have occasionally incorporated some running, but it isn't structured, we don't run for very long and we mostly run on the downhill stretches (going downhill, a slight jog actually seems easier on my knees than a fast walk). He's not really interested in doing C25K. (I like structure, he likes unstructured.)

I know the hills will be good for me, but I don't want to start tackling them at a run until the weather is more reliable. Otherwise, I'd be able to run a few days and then have to take a week or more off while I wait for the road to be safe to run on. I tried doing C25k last summer outside but just couldn't get past week 5 and then ended up with a knee injury (I had stopped doing Zumba). So, I decided that the treadmill was the way to go - a more controlled setting. Using the treadmill did teach me that part of my problem was that I'd been trying to run too fast.

mbaker566

i'm sorry when i say race, i mean an actual race. i wasn't clear-my SD and I ran a 5k together at a local winter festival.
it is a concept that running more miles makes your shorter distances faster. because you are building up the muscles and endurance

intervals would be run at a certain pace for a determined amount of time and then run at a more relaxed pace. many of the running apps will have that option and will prompt you to change pace. Fartleks is the unstructured, run fast to the next tree.

I've heard of C25Ks that do it by distance but I don't know which ones. I've also heard of C25K improver programs, but not sure specifically where to find them. I'm sure you could google it if you were interested

Just_Ceci

I used the distance version by RunDouble, so when I finished the program, I was actually able to run 5k. (It took longer than 30 minutes, but I did it!) I would just keep running your 3 or 4 days a week, adding to the amount of time you are running. At least one of those days should be some kind of speed intervals or hill repeats (that will help you run faster).

Sign up for a 5k run. Soon. You will be surprised what you can do in a "race" situation.

NancyN795

Nope, not signing up for a 5K any time soon. I am very introverted and I was ridiculed for my athletic abilities over and over and over again as a child. Ain't gonna happen. (And yes, don't bother with the "nobody is going to ridicule you, etc." I know that's true, but my aversion to exercising around others is long standing and deep-seated.)

I just want to be able to run 5K on my own. I don't care if I'm slow. I just want to get there without another knee injury (or any other injury, of course).

Brans34

I have an app, Runkeeper, and it tracks all of your activity, and it automatically syncs up with MFP. It has several pre-programmed workouts in it, and one of them is a C25K. It seems to move at a faster pace than what everyone else is using. I didn't realize there were different versions until I joined this group. Anyways, it has days that you run by time, and days that you run by distance. By the time you finish it, you CAN run a 5K.

mangrothian

NancyN795 wrote: »

Nope, not signing up for a 5K any time soon. I am very introverted and I was ridiculed for my athletic abilities over and over and over again as a child. Ain't gonna happen. (And yes, don't bother with the "nobody is going to ridicule you, etc." I know that's true, but my aversion to exercising around others is long standing and deep-seated.)

I just want to be able to run 5K on my own. I don't care if I'm slow. I just want to get there without another knee injury (or any other injury, of course).

I feel you there completely. It took me forever to go walk around the block outside, let alone step foot in the gym in my office building (and if there were more than 2 other people there I'd leave). You do what feels comfortable for you

With intervals on your treadmill, you could start with something similar to what I did to hit my first 5km:
- run 10 minutes at normal pace
- 5 intervals of running 1 minute at desired pace, 1 minute normal pace (or at least a faster doable pace), for 10 minutes total
- run 10 minutes at normal pace

When you feel comfortable with the intervals you're running, you can increase the number or the length of the faster intervals.

NancyN795

Thanks, mangrothian. It took me a long time to start walking outside, too. I did Wii Zumba for about 18 months before my husband and I started walking outside, even though very few people actually see us where we usually walk (although it's always the same people). I still don't want to go to a gym. I also have the excuse that it would add at least 40 minutes to my routine to go somewhere else to exercise.

Thanks for the advice on the intervals. I'm not sure what my "desired pace" is (I can't imagine doing the 6 MPH necessary for a 30 minute 5K), but I can bump the speed up a bit extra in the middle of the workout and see how that goes. I do wonder what I should be aiming for as far as heart rate, though. Right now, it tends to hover around 85-90% of my theoretical maximum heart rate for most of my run and average at a little over 80% for the entire workout.

NancyN795

Brans34 wrote: »

I have an app, Runkeeper, and it tracks all of your activity, and it automatically syncs up with MFP. It has several pre-programmed workouts in it, and one of them is a C25K. It seems to move at a faster pace than what everyone else is using. I didn't realize there were different versions until I joined this group. Anyways, it has days that you run by time, and days that you run by distance. By the time you finish it, you CAN run a 5K.

Thanks. I may look into that when I get to running outside again.

mangrothian

NancyN795 wrote: »

Thanks, mangrothian. It took me a long time to start walking outside, too. I did Wii Zumba for about 18 months before my husband and I started walking outside, even though very few people actually see us where we usually walk (although it's always the same people). I still don't want to go to a gym. I also have the excuse that it would add at least 40 minutes to my routine to go somewhere else to exercise.

Thanks for the advice on the intervals. I'm not sure what my "desired pace" is (I can't imagine doing the 6 MPH necessary for a 30 minute 5K), but I can bump the speed up a bit extra in the middle of the workout and see how that goes. I do wonder what I should be aiming for as far as heart rate, though. Right now, it tends to hover around 85-90% of my theoretical maximum heart rate for most of my run and average at a little over 80% for the entire workout.

I doubt that there were many who finished their first 5km in 30 minutes - you could always aim for a 40 minute 5km, which is an 8 minutes per km pace (sorry, Australian here, I'm no good with working in miles), which is still an extremely respectable time for a beginner runner.

I also agree with @Just_Ceci about rundouble. I used that program for my c25k, and they have a distance version as well as a timed version, which might be good for you. It's available on android and iOS devices. I think they have information on how to use the app when you're treadmill running as well.

In terms of heart rate, I'm the worst person to comment on it. I only check it during my warmup and cooldown, and during the run itself I just listen to my body. Even regularly running 10km+, there are still days where my body needs me to just stop and walk for a bit, and there are days where I feel like I could run forever.

NancyN795

A 40 minute 5K might eventually be doable. Converting units (I wish I could think in metric units - they're much easier to use and make much more sense, but...) I get that to be about 4.65 MPH. The fastest I've tried to run on the treadmill at the moment is 4.5 MPH and I can only do that for only a short time. But, I can do it, so I might get there if I keep at it.

I'll look into rundouble. I used the Zen Labs app, but I'm open to using something better.

I understand the listen to your body approach. However, I can't always rely on the kinds of guidance I hear for that, either. For instance, the idea that if you can't talk comfortably then you're working too hard. If I went by that, I couldn't run at all. When I'm running I can get out a word or two, but that's it. And I have never had a day when I felt like I could run forever. I count the minutes down every single time. However, I now occasionally have a "Wow! I feel really good!" moment a little while after I finish.

mangrothian

NancyN795 wrote: »

A 40 minute 5K might eventually be doable. Converting units (I wish I could think in metric units - they're much easier to use and make much more sense, but...) I get that to be about 4.65 MPH. The fastest I've tried to run on the treadmill at the moment is 4.5 MPH and I can only do that for only a short time. But, I can do it, so I might get there if I keep at it.

I'll look into rundouble. I used the Zen Labs app, but I'm open to using something better.

I understand the listen to your body approach. However, I can't always rely on the kinds of guidance I hear for that, either. For instance, the idea that if you can't talk comfortably then you're working too hard. If I went by that, I couldn't run at all. When I'm running I can get out a word or two, but that's it. And I have never had a day when I felt like I could run forever. I count the minutes down every single time. However, I now occasionally have a "Wow! I feel really good!" moment a little while after I finish.

If 4.5mph is what you know you can do for a short time, maybe that's the speed you should aim for in your intervals. Once that slowly becomes the norm, you can decide whether you want to up your speed or not. Slow and steady will get you there, you just need to clock up the miles

Haha, if I went by the 'you can carry on a conversation' approach, I'd never finish a 5k. Even if I can carry a conversation, my brainpower is all used up on being aware of what's around me and not falling over, so anything I did say would just sound like gobbledegook. And as to the running forever part, that only happens to me as part of the rare & elusive 'runners high', which for me at least never happens on a treadmill.

NancyN795

I think that moment of "Wow! I feel really good!" that I sometimes get after my run is probably the "rare & elusive" runner's high. It's definitely rare and elusive for me and only happens once I'm done, but it is a different feeling than just my normal "Whew! I survived another workout" post-workout feeling. I'm looking forward to being able to run outside this spring. It would be tempting to start this week, since the weather is beautiful, but it looks like we're getting a big storm the beginning of next week, so it'll be a while before our road is walkable, much less runable after that.

In the meantime, I think I'll add one segment at 4.5 MPH to my run tomorrow morning and see how that goes, then add more as I feel I can handle it.

I downloaded rundouble and I think I'll like it better than the Zen Labs app and I like that I will be able to use the GPS to get me to an actual 5K. It looks like it will even work with my chest strap HRM.

twinkle150

I wouldn't worry so much about time. You could probably complete the 5K now if you just keep going. Those that do marathons don't run them every day...they train for it, so when the time comes they can do it. You can continue similar to you have been doing with the program where the last day of the week is longer. Give it a try at the end of the week and see how it goes...then you can try again at the end of the next week and see if you are faster.

NancyN795

twinkle150 wrote: »

I wouldn't worry so much about time. You could probably complete the 5K now if you just keep going. Those that do marathons don't run them every day...they train for it, so when the time comes they can do it. You can continue similar to you have been doing with the program where the last day of the week is longer. Give it a try at the end of the week and see how it goes...then you can try again at the end of the next week and see if you are faster.

I could possibly complete the 5K now, but I am really, really worried about my knees. I know from experience that having a knee go out on me sets me back for weeks or even months. So, I think I want to sneak up on the 5K.