Speed or Resistance

ABabilonia

Hello everyone, I just have quick question that I need to ask. First let me tell you that I enrolled to officially run my first 5K in July 4th, which gives me plenty of time to train a little more. Today I completed week 5 of the program C25K (I have been repeating some weeks to gain more confidence), which means that I was able to run 20 minutes none spot (which by the way is a big milestone for me), so the question I have is, should I now going forward concentrate in improving my speed (covering more distance in the 20 minutes run)? Or should I instead concentrate in resistance (increasing my running time)? Any help or guidance you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

jemhh

Just focus on finishing the program and being able to run for more time. Speed should not be a focus at this point unless you have something like a job-related speed requirement (e.g., 1.5 mile time for the police academy, etc.)

sakat726

I'd second jemhh. It's good to train to the full distance you're planning to race first. Once that distance becomes easier, then you can work on speedwork. Great work on hitting 20 minutes!!

ABabilonia

Thanks for the advice everyone I will focus on finishing the program at my current speed then. Thanks again

MeanderingMammal

ABabilonia wrote: »

Any help or guidance you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Follow the plan as it was designed, and to some extent I'd say that means not repeating weeks unless you absolutely have to; couldn't complete the sessions.

Don't worry about speed work, as a newbie you'll improve your pace as you run more.

Personally I don't advocate speed work for new runners until you're doing a 10K session 3-4 times per week.