Couch to 5K Running Program (C25K)

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You have finished C25K, now what?

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  • snarlingcoyote
    snarlingcoyote Posts: 399 Member
    I took a 2.5 month hiatus from running because I was miserable. So I went back and re-started the C25K, but have skipped about half of it. Now I have a new program the B210K! Also, I have figured out that I psychologically NEED that 5 minute walk before I run. I need to get my mind into the run and I need to know that it is okay to walk instead of run. Thanks for the link :)
  • fitplease
    fitplease Posts: 647 Member
    I ended up joining a local running program and completed my first 10K. I am now training for my second 10K and incorporating NHS C25K+ for my shorter runs/interval training. Here is more info: http://www.nhs.uk/tools/pages/Couch-to-5k-plus.aspx
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    Almost finished with C25k… (just finished week 7). I can do the 30 minutes. But my pace is so slow… there is no way I'll be finishing a 5k in those 30 minutes! I'm considering taking a few weeks/couple of months to work up to where I can actually run the 3.1 miles instead of just 30 minutes… then moving on to the 10K program. What do you think… good idea or should I just go straight to it?
  • SLKMERC
    SLKMERC Posts: 70 Member
    bump
  • tractorgirl78
    tractorgirl78 Posts: 6
    I'm just starting C25k, with my first 5k in May :)
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    tractorgirl78 wrote: »
    I'm just starting C25k, with my first 5k in May :)

    Welcome!
  • drdwngfan
    drdwngfan Posts: 33 Member
    Just finished B210K training, moving on to Hal Higdon's HM training. Keep on running !!!
  • Chrisdoc89
    Chrisdoc89 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks for the enlightenment.
  • randilynn113
    randilynn113 Posts: 227 Member
    I have the same question - I feel like I'm just way too slow!
  • smilelaughlove17
    smilelaughlove17 Posts: 134 Member
    cincysweetheart wrote: »
    Almost finished with C25k… (just finished week 7). I can do the 30 minutes. But my pace is so slow… there is no way I'll be finishing a 5k in those 30 minutes! I'm considering taking a few weeks/couple of months to work up to where I can actually run the 3.1 miles instead of just 30 minutes… then moving on to the 10K program. What do you think… good idea or should I just go straight to it?

    I can run (well jog) 30 minutes but I am nowhere near 3.1 miles either. I have 8 weeks until my first 5k. I am going to keep adding a little more distance until I'm jogging 3.1 miles and then worry about my time and try and get faster by June. Hopefully, at least that's my plan.
  • demoiselle2014
    demoiselle2014 Posts: 474 Member
    I just graduated yesterday and am looking at possible programs to move on to, because I respond well to structure. I looked at the c210k plan, but I feel like (for me) adding that much time to all three runs right away would be a mistake. I want to make sure I am strong enough to progress without getting hurt. For the moment, my idea is that I'll keep running 30 min/3x per week for the next couple weeks, then decide whether to do the One Hour Runner program or c210k.
  • eyethree
    eyethree Posts: 29 Member
    I graduated today, up next B210K starting Tuesday. My first 5k Color Run is Aug 1st.
  • joolieb1
    joolieb1 Posts: 140 Member
    I graduated from C25K 6 weeks ago, went onto a 10k programme but my legs did not agree it was a good idea, might try again in January. Went back to 3 X 30 minute runs and now doing 3 X 5K, not fast (between 34 and 38 minutes) but satisfied with that and legs are happy
  • fleurhaus
    fleurhaus Posts: 35 Member
    I graduated from C25K about 2 weeks ago. I do not know if I feel 100% ready to move onto C210K, however that's what I am planning to do eventually. I think the best plan to follow, at the moment, would be to keep on running 5K distances regularly, build up my endurance, and then move onto 10K.
  • Michael27587
    Michael27587 Posts: 13 Member
    You know I think hanging at 5K distances is a good idea. You will be building your base miles which is always good. Also starting on a 10K plan now would make you ready for a race in the middle of winter. I am not sure where you live but we do not have many races until spring.

    Mike
  • joolieb1
    joolieb1 Posts: 140 Member
    I agree that sticking at 5k is a great idea. I graduated 13 weeks ago and have run three times every week and increased from 3 X 30 minutes to 3 X 5k. Really helped me to recover from the programme and build strength and confidence too. As I felt stronger, just added .5 km, then ran a 6km. Have been increasing my run times from there and today did my first 10k. The first 5k is still the most challenging though. Well done for graduating. Julie
  • rickc74
    rickc74 Posts: 416 Member
    I completed the program about three weeks ago. Since then, I'm running 5k every other day. I don't feel the urge to do 10k. I may start tacking on a bit more distance to my runs. I live 8k from my work, and like the idea of running home after work sometime. We'll see...
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
    edited December 2016
    so... i finished c210k last week, although only managing to run 7k in 1h1min.I can't say it bothers me, because i still feel like i've succeeded just by managing to run the full hour. However, i found myself wondering what to do next. I will definitely try to reach the 10k mark, but i feel it's getting too tiring running for a full hour 3 times a week. So i decided i want to do a bit of everything.Try to increase my distance and try to shave off some of my 5k time. The plan i have is this:

    Get my long run done on Monday, increasing the time i run by 5' every week until i eventually reach the 10k mark.
    Do a normal 5k run on Wednesday, steady pace, to monitor my progress as my distance increases.Today i ran a 5k for the first time since october (when i finished c25k)and i noticed that i finished 1 minute earlier than what my fastest time had been. So from 44'30sec, it went down to 43'30sec. Is that a big improvement?I don't know.
    On Friday, have my short but fast run.So starting on week 1 of c210k ,running really fast during the (previously)jogging bits, and slowly jog during the (previously) walking bits.

    My long term plan is to continue running 5k and 10k distances,but at a reasonable speed.So any distance requiring over an hour would not be sustainable in the long term.
    Thoughts on my plan?

  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    That's a great plan, jennypapaje.
    I'm not being very disciplined about my training lately. I'm loosely following the C120K plan but using it for my faster runs. I do one C210K running day every 3-4 runs. The rest of the time, I'm runnning "long and slow". These are really relaxing runs. Like you, I run about 7K in 60-64 minutes.
    On Sunday, I decided to go as long as I could to see how close I could get to 10K and ran the entire 10K (in 1:36 minutes). That's more time than I'd like to put into my running but I'll try for 10K maybe once or twice a month now, I think. Who knows, maybe my time will improve.

    Congratulations on running for 1 hour! I found that to be a huge milestone. Well done!
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
    thanks PaytraB! Like you, i think to get to 10k will take me about 1h30min.short legs don't help :smiley: Winter is not making it any easier either!

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