C25K stuck and I have big races coming up...!

TurtleRunnerNC

Slow down. You should be able to hold a converstation while running. This is the pace you want in order to build endourance.

steveinct

I haven't read all the replies, so please forgive me if this has been said: I notice most people have said "slow down and try to move forward". Have you thought about doing the opposite? If you have been stuck at this "week" for months, how 'bout you step back to last "week" (or maybe the week before) and roll three days where you run FASTER! Like WAY faster! Then pop back to where you are and run at your normal pace again. Since you were just running faster (maybe 6-7mph), the 5.5 is going to feel like a cakewalk. What can it hurt? You have been stuck for months anyway.

sevsmom

I think you should take it outside for a run. Tuck your watch, or cell phone away so you can't easily look at the time that's passed, and just go outside and RUN! Not fast. Just jog it out for as long as you possibly can. When you feel like you have to throw in the towel. . .push yourself to the next intersection or that bench a ways up. Then see if you can push yourself a little further. I think you'll be surprised at how far you can get without some random intervals telling you to stop and walk here or there. Just go have some fun!

And, don't beat yourself up if you have to take a short walk break or two during your race. My PR 5k time includes about 20 seconds of walking (up a crazy steep hill at the end that I TOTALLY did not expect) and I still ran a 23:02. . .so, walking isn't the end of the world. As long as you give it your all, you'll do yourself proud!!!

newcs

I agree that it's largely mental. I find myself wanting to walk instead of run but telling myself I need to make it to a certain time before I do proves to me that it was a want, not a need. I'm told when you're in a race, the atmosphere of everyone running with you keeps your motivation to continue up.

Something else that I've found helps is to run faster for shorter periods of time. I found that this helped me TREMENDOUSLY and it also kept me from being bored. Now I usually use around 7.5mph for short intervals (basically as long as I can hold on) and then go back to 4mph walking and repeat. I started at 5.5 and moved up in .5mph increments whenever it was taking me a long time to reach my limit. Doing this kept me from being bored by running for 20+min but I can now run at lower speeds for a much longer time (30min+...haven't had the attention span or gym time to test longer).

If you have a HRM, this is what I specifically do: find out your max HR that you feel safe with during a workout (for me, this is 190). Figure out the highest you feel recovered enough to start running again (for me, about 155). Do HR intervals. I walk 5min to warm up, run (7.5mph) until HR reaches 190, count to 10, walk (4mph) until HR reaches 155, run until 190, count to 10, walk until 155, etc.

ash1976

Have you tried just slowing down?

TdaniT

Wow there are a lot of people doing C25K out there. I am not a runner, never have been. However I wanted to push myself and see what I could do. I just finished W2D2 yesterday and it is kicking my butt. How are you guys getting up to 4-5 to jog? I am down at 3-3.5. Does anyone feel tightness in the outside of their ankles when they slow down to the walk part of it? I push myself through it and do a lot of stretching afterwards but I don't know if I should stop or do W1 over again.

tdelam

5.5 mph?! that seems overly fast! The rule is you're supposed to run as slow as you can, if you can run slower then you are running too fast. 5.5mph is definitely too fast. The speed comes later.

kennie2

most definitely have lunch an hour before! I cant run on an empty stomach. also if youre running on the treadmill watch tv or put a film on your phone/ipod. anything to distract yourself and then you should hopefully be able to break the mental wall

LoosingMyLast15

Alright. So there's a 5k run on St Patrick's Day that I'm desperate to complete by running it entirely. I don't terrible care if it takes me 40mins to run it, I just need to be able to run it.
THEN just before my birthday in May I want to run a 10k fundraiser for my ailing parent's disease.

However! I've been stuck at W5D2 for like... Ever. Months. I keep trying. I can hardly complete a session anymore.
How can I run 10k in 3 months (oh god, exactly 3 months!!) if I can't run 5k - or should I say "can't run for 20mins at a time."

How can I increase my stamina? My speed is pretty OK - averaging 5.5mph... Bear in mind, before Dec 5 2012 I didn't run at all.

slow down, stop worrying about your upcoming races and just do it. seriously it sounds like you're getting in the way of yourself. if you can run for 15 minutes at 5.5 then you can run for 20 at 5. at your speed you're only competing against yourself. you're not going to win so strop trying to "kill it". trust me: the last 5k i ran the women's 1st place finished somewhere around 22 minutes. 1st place mens finished in 15 minutes.

fyi, the adrenaline rush you'll get the day of the 5k will also help you finish however do NOT try and keep up with the pack. if you start out too fast you'll loose steam. don't worry if you have to walk some of it. we've all had to. my first 10k i started out WAY TOO FAST and had to walk almost a mile of the race. i finished and i am proud of my first 10k race time but i want to beat it at my next 10k race (in april).

liverup

Running is mental. You can run longer than 20 minutes. try 21 then 22 and so on. You CAN do this!

What she said!

When my running schedule says to run 3 miles I get to 3 and I'm wiped out. When my schedule says run 8, I run 8. You really have to push yourself sometimes. Don't quit! Before long running 3 miles without stopping will seem easy to you.

ash1976

Get the distance/time running sorted, then the pace will come later as your fitness and technique improve and your body gets used to running in my experience (I finished C25K in September 2012, ran a 5k in October 2012, a 10k this month, and I'm running a half marathon on Sunday)!

fjc1968

Great timing OP, I've got W5D3 coming up tomorrow and was NOT looking forward to it, but I'vepicked up some great tips here so it may not be as bad as I'm thinking. Good luck x

navywifeandmomof4

I agree it's a mental thing.Today I'm on w5d2 and Friday is the 20 min. run..this is like my 4th time doing the program.I find that the 20 min run is easier than the switching from run to walk..good luck!!

leahstaeb

Running slower seems like I'm cheating. I walk fast - I walk averaging between 4-4.5mph (somewhat comfortably). Running at 5mph would (and does) seem too slow.

Even though you think it seems too slow, just try it. The goal is to get you past the mental block of thinking you can't run for 20 minutes. Maybe you can't run 20 minutes at the pace you want, but you probably could do it at a slower pace. So just jog it at 5 mph. If your reason for not doing it is because it's too slow, then that should tell you that you CAN run it at that pace. So do it. The only one stopping you from trying the suggestions being given to you is you. Try it. When you complete the 20 minute run, move on to week 6.

As far as eating before your run, that's a personal preference. I run after I get home from work, so I don't eat dinner until after I run and shower, but I do have an afternoon snack 1-1.5 hours before I get home and run. My PM snack is usually 1/4 cup peanuts and one string cheese stick or a fiber bar from Kroger (do you have that grocery store in Canada? Haha I don't know....but it has 9 grams of fiber per bar and it's filling, so maybe you can find something similar) or a sliced apple and baby carrots, depending on what I brought to work to that day.

I'm currently doing Couch to 5K for the second time, and I am on week 8. The first time I did it, I was running for the time outlined in the plan, not worrying about the pace. This time, I have been trying to increase my speed so that I can run as close to a 10-minute mile as possible. I'm not there yet. I usually average 10.5-11 minutes per mile, but that's okay for me because I was averaging 12.5-13 minutes my first round. I may start it over for a third time when I'm finished or just keep running 3 miles and try to run faster as time goes. We'll see.

You really can do this. Use the suggestion many people have given you about slowing down, even if you think it's too slow. Try it and get yourself past this point in the program.

weird_me2

I agree with all the slow downs. If you truly don't care if it takes you 40 minutes to run 5k, then you could theoretically slow your speed all the way down to about 4.7. I say try running at 5 or even 4.9 to see if you can make it. I was kind of doing C25k with a friend. We barely made it to 25 minutes and then never went past that. Did a few runs of run 5 mins / walk 1, etc. Just last week, I decided to try to run 5k and made it in just under 38 minutes. Not fast, about a 4.9 average, but I completed it. Now, I know I can do it and I just have to work on the speed.

PaulaJPatrick

I agree with everyone else, slow down your pace and it will be easier. I just started to run last August and I used the C25K program also. I noticed a few things, one you need good music that can make or break your run as a beginner, go to jog.fm or rockmyrun.com and find songs with at bpm of 160 - 180 and that will definitely give you inspiration while you run; two the first mile to mile and a half will be the hardest, it will take a while for your entire body to catch up to your legs. I have to continuously tell myself "breath 1,2, out 1,2" until I get past that point and then when the body gets in sync you will find it is easier to run than you think. Time does not matter, just run. I am 53 and I run at an 11 - 12 minute/mile pace, I will never win a race, but I can finish. Good luck!

HypersonicFitNess

Maybe slow up a little till you can get to the point of running that long straight. Once you get the endurance down then work on speed.

I did recently (middle of January, I got a bad cold and had a brief hiatus from running - about a week or so. During which I "lost a week or so" in the program) start trying to increase my speed to 5.5 - 6.0 from 5.2.

Should I be eating more (like, have lunch an hour before) before I go to the gym? Or just "run through it"?

WAIT!!! YOU haven't EVEN finished 5K yet and you are increasing your speed? WHY? FIRST you have to get through a 5K, THEN once you are able to run 5K, you can worry about speed. You cannot work on speed before distance unless you are only planning to do short sprints.

Your goal is to run a 5k then a 10k...so work on your distance not your speed. You are sabotaging yourself. SLOW DOWN! And stop pysching yourself out! Instead play mind games with yourself. I made it to this light pole, so I can certainly make it to that light pole, well, I made it to this light pole now, so I can certainly make it to that next light pole. I play some serious mind games sometimes when I'm running and I ignore everything unless it is sharp shooting pain. Aches are ignored; if you notice each ache and pain, you'll never get anywhere...ignore all but TRUE INJURY type PAIN. Your body isn't used to the work, so it's complaining, but if you keep going it will get used to it and stop complaining. Also LISTEN to your body...pay attention to how you are stepping..maybe you need to adjust your stride; are you taking too long a stride, stepping wrong? Stepping too hard? Remember you aren't STOMPING, you should be running like a butterfly....not an elephant.

llpaq

Wow this post was sent from up above! Thank you OP! I seriously ran the C25K week 3 day 2 yesterday and thought I was going to vomit- I was thinking this morning there is NO WAY that I'm going to be able to do this maybe there are just some bodies that aren't meant for running (I'm totallll PEAR shaped and seriously thought that maybe my body wasn't made for it!) But I have been running at 5.5! I'm very happy to see that many of you are saying that's too fast! And it is SUCH a mental thing and a breathing thing- because I feel like my body can go on for days but my breathing needs me to stop now! So I need to get that down and get some good music, slooow it down a bit and start Week 4 tomorrow!

thanks all for your fantastic advice!

lawtechie

Walking is low-impact. One foot always on the ground. running is high impact. one foot usually off the ground. That means its harder on your muscles, and give ya the extra soreness.

Walking at 4 - 4.5 mph is awesome! Treadmill running/walking is easier than outdoors because the belt is doing some of the work for you. Get in the practice of outdoors, so you're ready for race time.

And lastly, I agree w/ others. Slow down. Since running is high impact it takes more a toll on your body, so you may need to slow the pace to get your muscles used to it. You also shouldn't need to be swinging your arms that much. Perhaps that is tiring you as well.

BldHny2002

OK! Wow! My first topic that hasn't died about five posts! Wooo!

That being said, I took some advice. I ran averaging 5.0-5.2mph, and though I was running into the machine, here's my rundown of my run:

5min warmup
10min run
1min walk
5min run
30sec walk
5min run
5min cooldown

That 30sec interval of walking is because I ran into the machine and accidentally turned it off... :-\

I increased my incline to 1.5, and found I could do all of that running OK. My breathing was really good at this pace - felt like if I needed to(or had someone to talk to) that I could have easily chatted.
Before I ran, I nibbled all day on broccolli and carrots. I had my 2 litres of water before running as well.
Right now I'm feeling good about the run - my knee feels a little wobbly but in general I feel comfortable running. I managed to crankout just under 5k at approx 2.65miles at that pace.

The reason why I'm playing with my speed is the fact the the c25k goal is 5k in 30mins. Week 9 I'm supposed to be able tl bust that out regularly, aren't I?