Speed

valkaree

I am doing the C25K program. I am curious what you guys/gals walk/jog at speed wise. I am doing 3.5mph walk and 6mph jog.

MeanderingMammal

Whatever is comfortable, at the moment your main objective should be completing the run periods, rather than anything else.

When I was doing C25K I used to try to pick up the pace for the final minute or two of the session.

To a large extent it's not helpful to try to compare yourself with others until you can actually do a 30 minute session, then you can think about what pace you're consistently holding and what you can do to improve it.

_Josee_

You shouldn't think about speed at this point.
Honestly, whatever pace you are running right now you would benefit from slowing down. The best way to get faster as a beginner is by running slow.

Good luck! C25K is what got me addicted to running :laugh:

valkaree

I am taking it easy, I could run at 10mph if I had to. I am just curious what your speed is.

MeanderingMammal

I could run at 10mph if I had to.

For 30 minutes?

I am just curious what your speed is.

Depends on the session. For my base sessions I'll do about a 9 minute mile for anything up to a couple of hours.

Shropshire1959

Really don;t worry too much about speed .... YET... just try to build up your fitness level and endurance .. speed will come.


FYI - runners 'typically' talk about pace (minutes and seconds per kilometre or mile) rather than k.p.h (or m.p.h) - at the low-ish speeds that we run at it's just a bit more granular.

valkaree

Gotcha, and no, not for 30 minutes. The first week of the C25K I am on is 5 minute warm up, 60 second jog/90second walk. What I was saying is I could do 10mph (6 minute mile) for the jogging part. That would max me out for sure but I could do it.

_Josee_

I am taking it easy, I could run at 10mph if I had to. I am just curious what your speed is.

First, nobody talks in mph... And it depends on the distance I run...

5K pace: 7:23 min/mile - 8.12 mph (22:57)
Marathon pace: 8:43 min/mile - 6.86 mph (3:49:18)

_Josee_

Gotcha, and no, not for 30 minutes. The first week of the C25K I am on is 5 minute warm up, 60 second jog/90second walk. What I was saying is I could do 10mph (6 minute mile) for the jogging part. That would max me out for sure but I could do it.

There is nothing to gain with sprinting for 60 seconds on a program that is meant to make you run longer... It is a recipe for injury, and that maximum speed is irrelevant except if your goal is to become a 200m-400m sprinter.

_Zardoz_

Gotcha, and no, not for 30 minutes. The first week of the C25K I am on is 5 minute warm up, 60 second jog/90second walk. What I was saying is I could do 10mph (6 minute mile) for the jogging part. That would max me out for sure but I could do it.

There is nothing to gain with sprinting for 60 seconds on a program that is meant to make you run longer... It is a recipe for injury, and that maximum speed is irrelevant except if your goal is to become a 200m-400m sprinter.

This ^^^^^^

The whole point of C25K is to get you to run continuous 5k. Speed is irrelevant at present for you. If you were doing a program to run for 60 seconds as fast as possible then it would be relevant

valkaree

I am taking it easy, I could run at 10mph if I had to. I am just curious what your speed is.

First, nobody talks in mph... And it depends on the distance I run...

5K pace: 7:23 min/mile - 8.12 mph (22:57)
Marathon pace: 8:43 min/mile - 6.86 mph (3:49:18)

THANK YOU, that is what I was looking for

meshashesha2012

when i started it was like 13.5 minute mile, then by the end of the program (well i did the zombies run 5K app) i completed my 5k race in like 39:15 (so like a 12.6 minute mile). i'm currently around a 11:16 mile and hoping to get that down to sub 10 by year end

i agree with the others, at the beginning, it is very easy to think of it as sprinting since you're only running for 15 seconds then walking for 1 or whatever. but once you start getting into several minutes of running you'll naturally find yourself slowing down

Jordan_Gregers

I played Rugby in High School and ran in my 20's. I never timed myself then, I could finish around 5k in 28 or 29 minutes. So around a 9 minute mile.

When I started again (now in my 30's) I could barely run a mile without stopping (this was in October). I started out on the treadmill doing 1 mile, then 2, then 3, then 4 usually at a 11:00 - 10:30 pace. Once the weather got warmer I got myself outside and bought a GPS watch. I started a 10k training plan that mixed in lifting, speedwork, hills, pace-runs and long-runs (9, 10, 11 miles) plus regular 'slow runs'. On my speed days I would just try to hit the target pace from the program, but it was my 'slow runs' where I noticed the increase in pace the most. 'Slow' went from a 10:30 mile to a 10:00, then 9:30.

I did a 5k a month before the 10k, just to get myself in the zone and I managed to do it in 23 minutes (a 7:45 minute mile pace). I thought there must have been something wrong with the race timer! I was so pumped.

But to directly answer your question. Speed depends on what kind of workout, what my finish time goals are, and what distance I'm training for.

Slow runs I try to keep between 10:00 and 9:30 (but the urge to go faster is sometimes really strong).
Long runs I aim for 9:30 - 9:15.
Pace runs are 8:00 - 8:30
Intervals are all different. It depends on how many sets I'm doing, the distance, and the rest time (400m intervals with 30 seconds rest time is different than 400m intervals with 2 minutes rest time)
400 metres 5:45 - 7:00 (usually between 10 and 14 sets, 30s-1m rest time)
800 metres 6:30 - 7:30 (usually between 6 and 8 sets, 45s - 2m rest time)
1 mile 7:00 - 8:00 (4 or 5 sets, 1m - 3m rest time)
2 miles 7:45-8:15 (2 or 3 sets, 1:30m - 3m rest time)

As I was breaking out of the 'can barely do a mile or two' phase and into the next phase, I got obsessed with speed, especially when I got that watch. I pushed myself too hard and ended up sidelined for a couple of weeks. Luckily it wasn't any more than that, but it easily could have been. A good rule of thumb while you are getting a base level of running fitness is to never up your mileage per week more than 10-20% (so if you run 20 miles per week, the next week shouldn't be more than 22 miles, but you can play around with this number). I don't know if there is a 'rule of thumb' for changes in speed, but I've heard people say 'you can never run too slow on slow days, but you can always run too fast'.

valkaree

That is some awesome, thought out, informative information. Thanks so much for putting the time into that. It helps me tremendously!! Wow