finished c25k

muggs1090

So I recently completed the C25K program and my question is, do I now strive first to increase my distance or time? Its still taking me about 35mins to finish 3 miles. Thoughts?

kayleygrav

Work on your distance if you are comfortable running longer. Speed comes with time

hbrittingham

Work on your distance if you are comfortable running longer. Speed comes with time

I agree.

sethwdyer

What sounds cooler to you: three miles in 16 minutes or running a marathon?


Go for distance!

reallymyBEST

Distance, for sure! The longer runs are so much more fulfilling. I'll take just doing miles 4-6 over a faster 3mi every single time!!!

natalie412

I agree - work on distance. When I finished, I ran 3 miles 3x a week for a few weeks, then started adding more distance. I find if I focus on speed too much, I run too fast and burn myself out!!!

BobbyDaniel

That is a great pace for a newbie! Congrats on what you have accomplished!
I tried Bridge to 10K after C25K, but it didn't work well with me running in 5K races, it actually was making it a little harder to run the full distance so I scrapped Bto10K and just started adding mileage. Most suggest adding 10% every week or two, I just rounded it up to half a mile, which would be an extra 5-10 minutes ever week or two. You are doing great!

Chika_2015

My question for you is, are you running non-stop or are you taking breaks in between? If you are taking breaks then your goal should be to run non stop and if that is not the case that i would focus on distance.

I look at this way, the longer you run, the more calories you will burn

Good luck

scottb81

It would be best just to work on distance at an easy pace for at least the next three months before you try to do any specific speed training. Your tendons, bones, and muscles need time to continue strengthening. If you try to to do specific speed running too soon you greatly increase the chance of injuring yourself and getting a stress fracture or hurting one of your tendons.

Just keep running 3 or 4 times a week and try to gradually increase the distance of at least one of those runs each week. Make it your goal to work up to running an hour on one of those runs during the week.

natalie412

Also - you might be surprised at how far you can run if you slow down just a little. I increased my max distance from 3.1 to 5 miles in one week - and it was not that hard. Just ran a little slower (like 30 seconds per mile slower), and it actually got a little easier after 2-3 miles! And the calorie burn - wow!

muggs1090

Thanks for all the input!! I was thinking that distance was the way to go. I have been doing most of my runs on a treadmill and recently started outside. Big difference, not sure how to describe it but it feels better!