You have finished C25K, now what?

PaytraB

Winter certainly won't make it easier. That amount of time will never happen on a treadmill, I'm sure. I don't think I could stick it out. But we do the best we can and we keep getting better & stronger.
Keep up the good work!

lps1dragonfly

Yay that I found this! I will be needing some direction soon. Last year around November I started C25K and didn't do that great until February when I signed up for my first ever 5K!!! It was in September and it was the coolest thing I have ever done! 2wks after that I found out i had a stress fracture in my foot. I miss running so much! I can't run (my way) until after Christmas. My questions are, how much of a start over will i have to do and how soon can I graduate?

jennypapage

if i were you i'd start from the beginning and see how i feel. maybe skip the first 2-3 weeks and continue on from there.

Tacklewasher

So I'm almost done (in wk 8 on the Zenn labs app so there's no week 9) and have read through this thread but I've got different thoughts.

I looked at the 10K version from Zenn and don't think it's for me. Simply because I want to keep my treadmill time under an hour (I like 45 minutes) as I do it first thing and any longer means getting up earlier and I already am up at 5.

Plus I don't have a desire to do 10K runs yet as I'm still not at 5 K as I run too slow.

I'm using a treadmill in my basement. I use it every weekday morning and have been since October (before starting the C25K). I need that consistency to keep at it and have been injury free (except when I sprained my toe doing something else entirely).

So here's my thoughts.
W8D3 is 40 mins. I'm running (hah!) at 4 mph.
If I extend the running time to 32 then 35 mins but keep my speed, that gets me to 45 mins total (my sort of goal).
Once I can run 35 mins for a week, then start to pick my speed up to 4.5 for a week then 5 for a week, 5.5 for a week and moving to 6 mph, which I do think is going to be my limit.

Key for me is to not go over 155 on my HRM and to move the time and speed up with that limit in mind. If it takes longer it takes longer.

I also am going to try moving outside 1 day a week (Saturday) and do the local park run. I'd try this week but it's still frikken cold outside.

Anyone see any problems with the above? I'm not really looking towards a race (but will be doing some over the summer) and do plan to move outside soon (maybe a month from now). Does my plan seem okay?

Just_Ceci

I'd probably throw in some intervals or do some cross training (I ride my bicycle in between run days.)

jennypapage

So, you want to be running daily for 45' and increase your speed weekly? i'm not a professional, but i'd say that plan is pretty bad and inviting injury. At the speed you're running now, do you feel comfortable, or are you gasping for breath at any point during your run?

I'll start with the negatives. The faster you run, your body's form changes. Your arms will move to try to propel you forward and your shoulders will probably suffer.Your legs will not be underneath you as much but will move more forward. Your bones and tendons have not caught up with your lungs yet. It takes 5-6 months of continuous running for them to get stronger. As a result, your chances of injury are getting higher. On top of that, you want to run daily. It is generally recommended that novices only run 3 times a week, and after a year to add an extra day. You have been doing it so far, but for small distances with walking intervals. In the longer distances it will not be easy. You also need rest days to recover. Recovery is very important.You also want to run outside. That's going to be much harder. The treadmill is helping your motion right now. When outside, all the effort will come from you. You might not be able to run as fast or as far.

What worked for me and what i think you should do.
Speed comes with distance.Arrange one day of the week that you can dedicate to longer runs. Start by increasing your distance no more than 10% each week. So, if you're running 3km now, next time during your long run, do 3.3km next time 3.7km, next time 4.1km. etc. Only once a week increase the distance. The long run is meant to be slow. Extra slow.
If you want to run everyday, i'd suggest that during the 3 days following your long run, run a casual distance that is shorter than your long run. Same example, if your distance right now is 3km, for these 3 days run for 2.5km at a normal pace.
The fifth day (after the 3 days mentioned above), try a faster run. Same example, if your distance right now is 3km, start with running 1.5km at a normal pace and run 500m at a faster pace. Then next week run 1.2km at a normal pace and run 800m at a faster pace ,etc.

That is what i have been doing, running since july 3 times a week. Finished c25k, only made it to 3.8km. Over the period of 1 month i increased my distance to 5k. (monday long run-wednesday casual 5k-friday also casual 5k).Did c210k, continued from the 5k mark.Made it to 7.5k, slowly increased the distance by myself adding 0.5kms every week during my long runs, while i run casual 5ks the other 2 days of the week.I tried doing a fast run on friday instead of a casual, by following c210k from week 1 (running at full speed the running parts and jogging the walking parts) and failed miserably. Went back to casual 5k on friday, but running faster during the last 500m.
Once i reached 10k distance, i started adding 1 km a week to my long runs,my casual run is how far i can run for 45' (about 6.5k) and during my fast run (which is 5k), i start increasing my distance about 2km before finishing.

Results: No injuries, my 5k time has gone down from about 46' to 35' and i'm still improving it every week.I find the recovery days in between very important.

I hope this helps a bit. Sorry i went a bit overboard and wrote too much.

Tacklewasher

First, thanks for the input. It is appreciated.

jennypapage wrote: »

So, you want to be running daily for 45' and increase your speed weekly? i'm not a professional, but i'd say that plan is pretty bad and inviting injury. At the speed you're running now, do you feel comfortable, or are you gasping for breath at any point during your run?

I'm not out of breath. I am concerned with letting my HR get too high, so I think that is keeping things in check. I don't have any known heart issues, but just think the 150-155 is max for me so I'm making sure to stay under that. It's why I slowed to 4 mph.

I'll start with the negatives. The faster you run, your body's form changes. Your arms will move to try to propel you forward and your shoulders will probably suffer.Your legs will not be underneath you as much but will move more forward. Your bones and tendons have not caught up with your lungs yet. It takes 5-6 months of continuous running for them to get stronger. As a result, your chances of injury are getting higher. On top of that, you want to run daily. It is generally recommended that novices only run 3 times a week, and after a year to add an extra day. You have been doing it so far, but for small distances with walking intervals. In the longer distances it will not be easy. You also need rest days to recover. Recovery is very important.You also want to run outside. That's going to be much harder. The treadmill is helping your motion right now. When outside, all the effort will come from you. You might not be able to run as fast or as far.

I've been on the treadmill since Sept., started walking, then starting with varying inclines, intervals and such. When I started the C25K, I was warned against running 5 days a week but have had no issue. Guess I think I'm above a novice at this point. The every weekday thing is so I keep the habit. Knowing me, if I do skip a day it will become a week etc.

As to the faster, if I find my HR getting up, I will slow down. I'm more interested in getting in 35 mins jogging before going faster.

Outside will be slower and a walk/run to start until I get used to it. Besides, my truck is still frosty in the morning so I'm not trying it yet.

What worked for me and what i think you should do.
Speed comes with distance.Arrange one day of the week that you can dedicate to longer runs. Start by increasing your distance no more than 10% each week. So, if you're running 3km now, next time during your long run, do 3.3km next time 3.7km, next time 4.1km. etc. Only once a week increase the distance. The long run is meant to be slow. Extra slow.
If you want to run everyday, i'd suggest that during the 3 days following your long run, run a casual distance that is shorter than your long run. Same example, if your distance right now is 3km, for these 3 days run for 2.5km at a normal pace.
The fifth day (after the 3 days mentioned above), try a faster run. Same example, if your distance right now is 3km, start with running 1.5km at a normal pace and run 500m at a faster pace. Then next week run 1.2km at a normal pace and run 800m at a faster pace ,etc.

That is what i have been doing, running since july 3 times a week. Finished c25k, only made it to 3.8km. Over the period of 1 month i increased my distance to 5k. (monday long run-wednesday casual 5k-friday also casual 5k).Did c210k, continued from the 5k mark.Made it to 7.5k, slowly increased the distance by myself adding 0.5kms every week during my long runs, while i run casual 5ks the other 2 days of the week.I tried doing a fast run on friday instead of a casual, by following c210k from week 1 (running at full speed the running parts and jogging the walking parts) and failed miserably. Went back to casual 5k on friday, but running faster during the last 500m.
Once i reached 10k distance, i started adding 1 km a week to my long runs,my casual run is how far i can run for 45' (about 6.5k) and during my fast run (which is 5k), i start increasing my distance about 2km before finishing.

Results: No injuries, my 5k time has gone down from about 46' to 35' and i'm still improving it every week.I find the recovery days in between very important.

I hope this helps a bit. Sorry i went a bit overboard and wrote too much.

Thanks. Something to think about.

Piqueaboo

Tacklewasher wrote: »

So I'm almost done (in wk 8 on the Zenn labs app so there's no week 9) and have read through this thread but I've got different thoughts.

I looked at the 10K version from Zenn and don't think it's for me. Simply because I want to keep my treadmill time under an hour (I like 45 minutes) as I do it first thing and any longer means getting up earlier and I already am up at 5.

Plus I don't have a desire to do 10K runs yet as I'm still not at 5 K as I run too slow.

I'm using a treadmill in my basement. I use it every weekday morning and have been since October (before starting the C25K). I need that consistency to keep at it and have been injury free (except when I sprained my toe doing something else entirely).

So here's my thoughts.
W8D3 is 40 mins. I'm running (hah!) at 4 mph.
If I extend the running time to 32 then 35 mins but keep my speed, that gets me to 45 mins total (my sort of goal).
Once I can run 35 mins for a week, then start to pick my speed up to 4.5 for a week then 5 for a week, 5.5 for a week and moving to 6 mph, which I do think is going to be my limit.

Key for me is to not go over 155 on my HRM and to move the time and speed up with that limit in mind. If it takes longer it takes longer.

I also am going to try moving outside 1 day a week (Saturday) and do the local park run. I'd try this week but it's still frikken cold outside.

Anyone see any problems with the above? I'm not really looking towards a race (but will be doing some over the summer) and do plan to move outside soon (maybe a month from now). Does my plan seem okay?

I also used the Zenlabs app, and I adore it - just started the 10K Trainer. Now, while I would tell you to run outside, I do hear you when you say it's too cold. Running on a treadmill is very different from the real deal, but you'll see once you do your parkrun (I miss those, they were awesome!). I'd say keep doing the "last" day of Zenlabs until you're happy, there"s no rule against "only" running 5k moving forward - if you want to change it down the line, you'll do that.

I do think that rest days are important, so if you feel that running 40 minutes every day 5 days a week, do take a break.

jennypapage

Tacklewasher wrote: »

First, thanks for the input. It is appreciated.

jennypapage wrote: »

So, you want to be running daily for 45' and increase your speed weekly? i'm not a professional, but i'd say that plan is pretty bad and inviting injury. At the speed you're running now, do you feel comfortable, or are you gasping for breath at any point during your run?

I'm not out of breath. I am concerned with letting my HR get too high, so I think that is keeping things in check. I don't have any known heart issues, but just think the 150-155 is max for me so I'm making sure to stay under that. It's why I slowed to 4 mph.

I'll start with the negatives. The faster you run, your body's form changes. Your arms will move to try to propel you forward and your shoulders will probably suffer.Your legs will not be underneath you as much but will move more forward. Your bones and tendons have not caught up with your lungs yet. It takes 5-6 months of continuous running for them to get stronger. As a result, your chances of injury are getting higher. On top of that, you want to run daily. It is generally recommended that novices only run 3 times a week, and after a year to add an extra day. You have been doing it so far, but for small distances with walking intervals. In the longer distances it will not be easy. You also need rest days to recover. Recovery is very important.You also want to run outside. That's going to be much harder. The treadmill is helping your motion right now. When outside, all the effort will come from you. You might not be able to run as fast or as far.

I've been on the treadmill since Sept., started walking, then starting with varying inclines, intervals and such. When I started the C25K, I was warned against running 5 days a week but have had no issue. Guess I think I'm above a novice at this point. The every weekday thing is so I keep the habit. Knowing me, if I do skip a day it will become a week etc.

As to the faster, if I find my HR getting up, I will slow down. I'm more interested in getting in 35 mins jogging before going faster.

Outside will be slower and a walk/run to start until I get used to it. Besides, my truck is still frosty in the morning so I'm not trying it yet.

What worked for me and what i think you should do.
Speed comes with distance.Arrange one day of the week that you can dedicate to longer runs. Start by increasing your distance no more than 10% each week. So, if you're running 3km now, next time during your long run, do 3.3km next time 3.7km, next time 4.1km. etc. Only once a week increase the distance. The long run is meant to be slow. Extra slow.
If you want to run everyday, i'd suggest that during the 3 days following your long run, run a casual distance that is shorter than your long run. Same example, if your distance right now is 3km, for these 3 days run for 2.5km at a normal pace.
The fifth day (after the 3 days mentioned above), try a faster run. Same example, if your distance right now is 3km, start with running 1.5km at a normal pace and run 500m at a faster pace. Then next week run 1.2km at a normal pace and run 800m at a faster pace ,etc.

That is what i have been doing, running since july 3 times a week. Finished c25k, only made it to 3.8km. Over the period of 1 month i increased my distance to 5k. (monday long run-wednesday casual 5k-friday also casual 5k).Did c210k, continued from the 5k mark.Made it to 7.5k, slowly increased the distance by myself adding 0.5kms every week during my long runs, while i run casual 5ks the other 2 days of the week.I tried doing a fast run on friday instead of a casual, by following c210k from week 1 (running at full speed the running parts and jogging the walking parts) and failed miserably. Went back to casual 5k on friday, but running faster during the last 500m.
Once i reached 10k distance, i started adding 1 km a week to my long runs,my casual run is how far i can run for 45' (about 6.5k) and during my fast run (which is 5k), i start increasing my distance about 2km before finishing.

Results: No injuries, my 5k time has gone down from about 46' to 35' and i'm still improving it every week.I find the recovery days in between very important.

I hope this helps a bit. Sorry i went a bit overboard and wrote too much.

Thanks. Something to think about.

good luck, and let us know eventually what you do and how it's working out.

Tacklewasher

So, the Marathon of Hope (Terry Fox Run) is April 9th. That's my goal date to get to 5K right now. I've put a plan together. Basically going between 32 1/2 mins to 35 mins running each week with the speed being bumped up a little each week. At the end of 5 weeks the plan has me at a little more than 5k. All with an eye on what my HR is doing.

Will see how I do and then I know I will be slower outside.

emerrywe

After finishing the program I haven't run in 5 weeks. .until yesterday! I was impressed with my speed. Only had to catch my breath for a minute once after a good 7 min steady climb. So I signed up for 2 different 5k runs...the first week of June and the last of Sept. I obviously need a goal to keep going despite feeling so good when I get back from a run. I am so happy to have maintained my stamina!

zorbaru

once i finish the c25k the plan is to get my 5k time down to 30 mins. once i can consistantly do that i will start on the 10k one.