C25k week 3

bluesmanhart6679
bluesmanhart6679 Posts: 55 Member
edited November 22 in Fitness and Exercise
Week 3 is in the books! Feeling pretty damn good. Best mile time yet: 12:09.
trying to work smart. When you are a beginner like I am, how do you determine what pace is right for one to jog? Thanks

Replies

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    The right pace is slow enough to accomplish your distance/total time goals for that session. Most beginners go too fast and burn out. I think 12:09 is quite fast for week 3 which as I recall is only about half run, half walk. The goal of C25K is to get you to where you can run for 30 min straight. For most people this is not going to be 5k. The pace truly doesn't matter. Good job and keep it going!
  • bluesmanhart6679
    bluesmanhart6679 Posts: 55 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    The right pace is slow enough to accomplish your distance/total time goals for that session. Most beginners go too fast and burn out. I think 12:09 is quite fast for week 3 which as I recall is only about half run, half walk. The goal of C25K is to get you to where you can run for 30 min straight. For most people this is not going to be 5k. The pace truly doesn't matter. Good job and keep it going!

    yes, it is 90 sec run, 90 sec walk, 3 mins & 3 mins, then repeat. i feel pretty good running the speed I am ( i do take a slower pace during the 3 min run sections). If I am not injuring myself, which I place at a high priority, how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal? Thank you for your advice and supportive words.
  • Philtex
    Philtex Posts: 1,283 Member
    how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal?

    First, congrats on your C25K progress. Next, pacing yourself is the most difficult, and most mental, part of running (note I did not say jogging ;) ). I'm going to make an assumption here that your running will be distance running, not sprints. 5Ks, 10Ks, maybe even half marathons. You might be able to run 'as quick as you can' for maybe a mile, but not an endurance race or run. That is where pacing is important. You will hear some people say you should leave it all out on the course, but I believe otherwise. We each have our own goals and reasons for running, but I would rather enjoy my runs than feel I'm about to die at the end of a run.

    The best advice I received when doing C25K was that if you can run any slower, you are running too fast. There will be plenty of time to increase pace later. Use this initial training to get used to running. If later you find that maximizing speed is important to you, then go for it.

    Good luck and welcome to the world of running!
  • bluesmanhart6679
    bluesmanhart6679 Posts: 55 Member
    Philtex wrote: »
    how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal?

    First, congrats on your C25K progress. Next, pacing yourself is the most difficult, and most mental, part of running (note I did not say jogging ;) ). I'm going to make an assumption here that your running will be distance running, not sprints. 5Ks, 10Ks, maybe even half marathons. You might be able to run 'as quick as you can' for maybe a mile, but not an endurance race or run. That is where pacing is important. You will hear some people say you should leave it all out on the course, but I believe otherwise. We each have our own goals and reasons for running, but I would rather enjoy my runs than feel I'm about to die at the end of a run.

    The best advice I received when doing C25K was that if you can run any slower, you are running too fast. There will be plenty of time to increase pace later. Use this initial training to get used to running. If later you find that maximizing speed is important to you, then go for it.

    Good luck and welcome to the world of running!

    I just want to run a 5k, keep fit and feel strong in my middle age years and beyond. Your advice is appriciated. I will try to keep that in my mind during my next run. It feels good to go fast though, so no promises..lol
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Philtex wrote: »
    how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal?

    First, congrats on your C25K progress. Next, pacing yourself is the most difficult, and most mental, part of running (note I did not say jogging ;) ). I'm going to make an assumption here that your running will be distance running, not sprints. 5Ks, 10Ks, maybe even half marathons. You might be able to run 'as quick as you can' for maybe a mile, but not an endurance race or run. That is where pacing is important. You will hear some people say you should leave it all out on the course, but I believe otherwise. We each have our own goals and reasons for running, but I would rather enjoy my runs than feel I'm about to die at the end of a run.

    The best advice I received when doing C25K was that if you can run any slower, you are running too fast. There will be plenty of time to increase pace later. Use this initial training to get used to running. If later you find that maximizing speed is important to you, then go for it.

    Good luck and welcome to the world of running!

    I just want to run a 5k, keep fit and feel strong in my middle age years and beyond. Your advice is appriciated. I will try to keep that in my mind during my next run. It feels good to go fast though, so no promises..lol

    It feels good to go fast, until it doesn't.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited November 2017
    When you are a beginner like I am, how do you determine what pace is right for one to jog? Thanks

    Run at a pace that you can sustain for the planned interval, that pace will vary depending on the time/ distance.

    For endurance running there are a number of approaches, but by far the simplest is the talk test. Run at a pace that allows you to talk in short sentences, some would suggest singing.

    Responding to your other comments, different paces deliver different physiological improvement. C25K as an interval based approach is helping to build aerobic capacity. That's best delivered through a moderate pace.

    Essentially C25K is aimed at getting you running continuously for 30 minutes, not running as fast as you can for 90 seconds then taking a break. The challenge with going all out is that you can lose form, which makes you more fatigued, hence getting less training effect, and increasing your risk of adverse effects. You don't appreciate that you're injured until after its happened.
  • bluesmanhart6679
    bluesmanhart6679 Posts: 55 Member
    I appriciate the council of all. thanks
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    The right pace is slow enough to accomplish your distance/total time goals for that session. Most beginners go too fast and burn out. I think 12:09 is quite fast for week 3 which as I recall is only about half run, half walk. The goal of C25K is to get you to where you can run for 30 min straight. For most people this is not going to be 5k. The pace truly doesn't matter. Good job and keep it going!

    yes, it is 90 sec run, 90 sec walk, 3 mins & 3 mins, then repeat. i feel pretty good running the speed I am ( i do take a slower pace during the 3 min run sections). If I am not injuring myself, which I place at a high priority, how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal? Thank you for your advice and supportive words.
    When you are a beginner like I am, how do you determine what pace is right for one to jog? Thanks

    Run at a pace that you can sustain for the planned interval, that pace will vary depending on the time/ distance.

    For endurance running there are a number of approaches, but by far the simplest is the talk test. Run at a pace that allows you to talk in short sentences, some would suggest singing.

    Responding to your other comments, different paces deliver different physiological improvement. C25K as an interval based approach is helping to build aerobic capacity. That's best delivered through a moderate pace.

    Essentially C25K is aimed at getting you running continuously for 30 minutes, not running as fast as you can for 90 seconds then taking a break. The challenge with going all out is that you can lose form, which makes you more fatigued, hence getting less training effect, and increasing your risk of adverse effects. You don't appreciate that you're injured until after its happened.

    If you're able to set/keep a 90 second pace and a 3 minute pace, and next week you're able to continue that with the 5 and 8 minute intervals, you're well on your way.

    It's always better(from an injury perspective) to run a little slower than you feel like you can/should in training.

    If you end an interval thinking, I could have done better. then that was the right training pace.

    If you feel "I could have done a lot better", then maybe pick it up just a hair. But in training, whether road/cardio or gym/strength, you generally want to have one more in the tank. Just one.... or 2... not 3 or 5.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    Philtex wrote: »
    how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal?

    First, congrats on your C25K progress. Next, pacing yourself is the most difficult, and most mental, part of running (note I did not say jogging ;) ). I'm going to make an assumption here that your running will be distance running, not sprints. 5Ks, 10Ks, maybe even half marathons. You might be able to run 'as quick as you can' for maybe a mile, but not an endurance race or run. That is where pacing is important. You will hear some people say you should leave it all out on the course, but I believe otherwise. We each have our own goals and reasons for running, but I would rather enjoy my runs than feel I'm about to die at the end of a run.

    The best advice I received when doing C25K was that if you can run any slower, you are running too fast. There will be plenty of time to increase pace later. Use this initial training to get used to running. If later you find that maximizing speed is important to you, then go for it.

    Good luck and welcome to the world of running!

    I just want to run a 5k, keep fit and feel strong in my middle age years and beyond. Your advice is appriciated. I will try to keep that in my mind during my next run. It feels good to go fast though, so no promises..lol

    Train for the long term. You say that you'll stick with a 5K distance but that's what we all said when we started. If you find the right pace and learn to run easy, trust me when I say that it won't be long until you start having those runs where you feel like adding another mile or so at the last minute. 5K will soon become your shortest run of the week!
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    The right pace is slow enough to accomplish your distance/total time goals for that session. Most beginners go too fast and burn out. I think 12:09 is quite fast for week 3 which as I recall is only about half run, half walk. The goal of C25K is to get you to where you can run for 30 min straight. For most people this is not going to be 5k. The pace truly doesn't matter. Good job and keep it going!

    yes, it is 90 sec run, 90 sec walk, 3 mins & 3 mins, then repeat. i feel pretty good running the speed I am ( i do take a slower pace during the 3 min run sections). If I am not injuring myself, which I place at a high priority, how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal? Thank you for your advice and supportive words.

    Because it's easy to run fast for a short time. Harder to keep up that pace for a distance.

    Would you rather run fast, or run far?

    So going as fast as you can actually isn't going to help you make that goal of going any sort of distance.

  • bluesmanhart6679
    bluesmanhart6679 Posts: 55 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    The right pace is slow enough to accomplish your distance/total time goals for that session. Most beginners go too fast and burn out. I think 12:09 is quite fast for week 3 which as I recall is only about half run, half walk. The goal of C25K is to get you to where you can run for 30 min straight. For most people this is not going to be 5k. The pace truly doesn't matter. Good job and keep it going!

    yes, it is 90 sec run, 90 sec walk, 3 mins & 3 mins, then repeat. i feel pretty good running the speed I am ( i do take a slower pace during the 3 min run sections). If I am not injuring myself, which I place at a high priority, how is pushing myself to be as quick as I can, not a positive path toward my goal? Thank you for your advice and supportive words.

    Because it's easy to run fast for a short time. Harder to keep up that pace for a distance.

    Would you rather run fast, or run far?

    So going as fast as you can actually isn't going to help you make that goal of going any sort of distance.

    thank you for your advice, I will take it to heart. I am definitely not sprinting, or running as fast as I can, but I will be mindful to sliw down on my next run day.. all the best!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    Train for the long term. You say that you'll stick with a 5K distance but that's what we all said when we started. If you find the right pace and learn to run easy, trust me when I say that it won't be long until you start having those runs where you feel like adding another mile or so at the last minute. 5K will soon become your shortest run of the week!

    I was there. I'll just do 5K three or four times per week, just to get a bit of exercise. Next up, developing a training plan for back to back marathons during the taper for a 50 miler...
This discussion has been closed.