C25k treadmill speed

samharries7
samharries7 Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all, I've been doing the C25k on the treadmill and was wondering what sort of speed everyone run at?

I have to do week 5 run 3 this evening (the first 20 minute solid run!), and I'm really nervous about doing it. I did the two 8 minute runs on Sunday and is was a real struggle. Week 4 was so hard I re-did week 4, 3 times has the it was too hard, which now that I've caught up with it and been eating healthier its been ok and I moved onto week5.

I'm doing my warmup walk at 5.0 and run at 8.0, with my inbetween runs walk speed at 4.0, which feels like a good solid speed, but utterly exhausting - am I going too fast? too slow? I'm male and have decently short legs weighing at present 16st

Replies

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I go WAAAAYYYY slower than you. My 'running' is barely over 4mph. :ohwell:

    There isn't really any 'too fast' or 'too slow', just what your heart rate tells you. You want to be short of breath but not gasping. You should be able to hold up a conversation in clipped phrases but not sing a song or give a speech.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
    Ouch. I am SLOW! I tend to set it at 3.7 or 3.8 and then alternate between walking and running without switching the speed. I am more comfortable running at around 4.2 for my form but my machine is a pain to switch up and down so I picked a lower speed where I can do both at comfortably.

    I am not fast in general even though I have long legs. I cannot keep up with the belt over 4mph for walking and 5.5mph for running but I am uncoodinated in general so I dont stress about being a turtle if it means not falling on my face.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    the lowest running speed i can go on a treadmill is 5.2 since i can walk on 5.0 but 5.6 is the most comfortable and what feel like i can go forever
  • Nikoruo
    Nikoruo Posts: 771 Member
    Oh man, i was going to do this before and tried it but i just couldn't. Not on the treadmill.
    Instead of following c25k i've been essentially doing it like this:

    5min walk 3mph warmup
    5-6 min, run 5mph
    6-7:30 min, walk 3mph
    7:30-830 min, run 6mph
    8:30-10 min, walk 3mph
    10-11, run 5 mph

    etc etc for 3 minutes, leaving 5 mins at the end for cool down and then 5 minutes after the 30 minutes for stretches. I've recently upped this workout to 40 minutes while shorting the warm up and cool down to 4 minutes and all my runs are at 6mph. :) So just go with your gut feeling! its different for everyone.
  • shmulyeng
    shmulyeng Posts: 472 Member
    Hi all, I've been doing the C25k on the treadmill and was wondering what sort of speed everyone run at?

    I have to do week 5 run 3 this evening (the first 20 minute solid run!), and I'm really nervous about doing it. I did the two 8 minute runs on Sunday and is was a real struggle. Week 4 was so hard I re-did week 4, 3 times has the it was too hard, which now that I've caught up with it and been eating healthier its been ok and I moved onto week5.

    I'm doing my warmup walk at 5.0 and run at 8.0, with my inbetween runs walk speed at 4.0, which feels like a good solid speed, but utterly exhausting - am I going too fast? too slow? I'm male and have decently short legs weighing at present 16st

    Are you sure about these numbers? Sounds way too high for someone just doing C25K. If it's accurate, you should definitely slow it down a bit and focus on duration rather than running so fast.
  • rsklenar
    rsklenar Posts: 1
    I don't know that program at all but I am a quite seasoned long distance runner (completed 15+ marathons and ultramarathons in the last 4 years). I can tell you that is way too fast for someone just beginning. 6 mph on a treadmill equates to running about a 10 minute mile pace. I tend to think in terms of pace. Basically speaking you want to set your "easy" running pace at a point where you can have a conversation and speak in full sentences while you are doing it, if you can't you are going too hard. Once you build up some aerobic progression it will begin to feel easier, however it takes time. It usually takes about 10 days for a workout to "show up" in your fitness. Also taking days off and resting is critically important. When you stress the body by running your fitness actually goes down a bit, it's during the rest and recovery that your fitness is gained. If you continually push the workouts, run too hard and don't allow yourself to recover it will take much longer to build your fitness.

    Fitness is built by running slowly most of the time (80-90% of the time you are running) with a little bit of harder, faster time time mixed in. Speed goes a very a long way so remember to take a good full recovery after. You'll feel your fitness improve very quickly is you take it slow. You get the same benefits at an easy pace, trust me on this!
  • snowanisan
    snowanisan Posts: 2 Member
    I run quite a bit and 8 mph is pretty handy for a first 5k equates to under 23 mins although treadmill speed does not translate well into race speed (usually you're about 10% slower when running on road/smooth grass). I would let myself be guided by my reaction and if you're exhausted you're going too fast. i'd try around 6 mph and see how you go. far better to finish feeling like you could go a bit further/faster rather than not finishing the rep. all the best with your plan.
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
    I question your numbers as well. They sound very high.

    When you first start running, the point is to run as slowly as you can, just try to make the time.

    A famous running book is called "no need for speed".

    Running speed comes naturally the more you run, so you don't need to run fast. The mental part is all about running a certain time/distance, so that's what you should concentrate on.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    I started last Feb (2013) at 4.5. Now I'm up to 5.1. I really don't worry too much about how fast I progress, but when it starts feeling "easy," I bump it up a decimal point.
  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    Distance is paramount.

    Get the distance in.

    Speed comes later (but you'll want to work on this, too)
  • samharries7
    samharries7 Posts: 4 Member
    Those are definitely the numbers from my treadmill (it is a york fitness treadmill active 120) so I don't know if they mean something different perhaps?

    I could definitely do 6 for the run, but it would feel more like a jog than a run, but perhaps thats the intention?

    Well, off to try the final run of week 5, I'll see if 6 is more manageable

    Cheers!
  • samharries7
    samharries7 Posts: 4 Member
    Just had a thought, I'm based in the UK, and my treadmill may be giving me Kilometers while you folks are talking miles? That'd make my numbers make much more sense.

    8km ~ 5mph

    5km ~ 3.1mph
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    Just had a thought, I'm based in the UK, and my treadmill may be giving me Kilometers while you folks are talking miles? That'd make my numbers make much more sense.

    8km ~ 5mph

    5km ~ 3.1mph

    that makes more sense then. an 8 minute mile would put you into elite status and if you could finish c25k atthat pace then , you go boy!
  • angieroo2
    angieroo2 Posts: 970 Member
    A good guideline is to ask yourself if you can hold a conversation while running. If you're too out of breath, you're going way too fast. Slow it down and see if it gets easier. You can add more speed later as you build endurance.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Those are definitely the numbers from my treadmill (it is a york fitness treadmill active 120) so I don't know if they mean something different perhaps?

    I could definitely do 6 for the run, but it would feel more like a jog than a run, but perhaps thats the intention?

    Well, off to try the final run of week 5, I'll see if 6 is more manageable

    Cheers!

    Doesn't matter if it's a run, or a jog just barely faster than a leisurely stroll. Get the distance and it's a success.

    I just finished my last run from a C25K program this morning, and when I was done, I felt good. Hotter than Hades, mind you. I was running outside and it was 80+F and 90+% humidity thanks to last night's gully-washer, so I was happy to slow back down to a walk, but pretty energetic still.

    I was breathing more heavily than normal, but I was not winded, my legs hadn't gotten to the point where they were tired yet. I think that's what you should shoot for - go as slow as you need to feel good after your run. If you push too hard while building up distance, you might burn out (mentally or physically) or injure yourself.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Just had a thought, I'm based in the UK, and my treadmill may be giving me Kilometers while you folks are talking miles? That'd make my numbers make much more sense.

    8km ~ 5mph

    5km ~ 3.1mph
    Oh! Those numbers make much more sense! Speed is so individual. My teen was doing C25K with me. She prefers to run over 5mph but walks much slower than me.

    Go by your perceived exertion.
  • samharries7
    samharries7 Posts: 4 Member
    Well, succeeded in my first 20 minute solid run.. (had to stop for 30 seconds to drink, so added a minute extra of running to make up for it).. Wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, and stuck with my 8km (5mph) speed. Thanks for the encouragement & thoughts, it is very much appreciated and my apologies for the metric measurement confusion.
  • hdtracy
    hdtracy Posts: 49 Member
    After reading so many posts about C25K speeds and such - I found myself trying and failing multiple times at 4mph jog speed... I thought I was just too out of shape for the program. I then read the advice that you shouldn't be so out of breath that you couldn't hold conversation... well - at 4mph I could barely hold myself upright more than a few moments. A comfortable walk for me on the treadmill is about 2.5mph, a heart-pumping walk is 3.0mph. So I bumped it up just a few more notches, and tried jogging at 3.4mph - 3.5mph. It's a speed that if I felt like super duper speed/power walking I probably could do, or if I take short, light steps it is a challenging but attainable jogging speed for me.

    I always feel weird when people are saying that they feel like they're going SO slow if they're only running at a 4.5mph (for example) and I'm sitting there dying at a 3.5 for a jog. But I think part of it is that I have very short legs, I'm only 5'3" to start with, overweight, and mostly torso - so my little stumps gotta work pretty hard to get anywhere ;)
  • Boobietrap1337
    Boobietrap1337 Posts: 195 Member
    I always feel weird when people are saying that they feel like they're going SO slow if they're only running at a 4.5mph (for example) and I'm sitting there dying at a 3.5 for a jog. But I think part of it is that I have very short legs, I'm only 5'3" to start with, overweight, and mostly torso - so my little stumps gotta work pretty hard to get anywhere ;)

    And the point is not how fast you run, but that you ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING! I started out that slow and was so embarrassed...until I started to get better and better at it and my speed picked up. I'm so glad that I stuck with it, because running is the only way I'm losing the weight around my middle! Keep on trucking girl...you got this :)
  • ftrobbie
    ftrobbie Posts: 1,017 Member
    I started C25k on a dreadmill but due to an aircon failure at the gym I ventured outside. I struggled with running inside getting a speed that worked ( a bit of ego but also a bit of fatigue causing me to struggle at a constant speed). Outside I just ran at a speed that I was comfortable at, it varied, it went up and down depending how I felt. Since running outside, I have not felt the need to use a dreadmill. It was am enlightening experience for me. YMMV. I wish you success.
  • amandzor
    amandzor Posts: 386 Member
    Hi all, I've been doing the C25k on the treadmill and was wondering what sort of speed everyone run at?

    I have to do week 5 run 3 this evening (the first 20 minute solid run!), and I'm really nervous about doing it. I did the two 8 minute runs on Sunday and is was a real struggle. Week 4 was so hard I re-did week 4, 3 times has the it was too hard, which now that I've caught up with it and been eating healthier its been ok and I moved onto week5.

    I'm doing my warmup walk at 5.0 and run at 8.0, with my inbetween runs walk speed at 4.0, which feels like a good solid speed, but utterly exhausting - am I going too fast? too slow? I'm male and have decently short legs weighing at present 16st

    I just finished this day on Monday of this week, and today I'll be on Week 6 Day 1.

    I walk at 3.2, then jog at a 4.6. That is, mph.
  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    Try running outside, I feel it's too easy to try and go to fast on a treadmill when the belt is moving, outside on the trails/tarmac you get a much more natural pace.

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