Finished c25k

allother94
allother94 Posts: 588 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just finished c25k. It was a great program, but now what? I was thinking to work on improving my 5k time since I am so slow. I run at just under 11 min per mile pace. I was thinking to run a 5k twice a week and hope that my time improves Any thoughts on how a plan like this will play out over a few months?

I’m not really interested in going longer distance since my workouts are during lunch and I can’t miss more work.

Thanks!

Replies

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    You could do an intermediate 5k plan that incorporates speedwork, like this one: https://www.halhigdon.com/training-programs/5k-training/intermediate-5k/
  • noblsheep
    noblsheep Posts: 584 Member
    Common wisdom states that in order to go faster, you'll have to go longer. Sorry.

    11 mins a mile isn't shabby. In fact it's faster than most of my easy runs. What are your long-term goals? In other words, what are you trying to achieve with running, or fitness in general?
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
    Twice a week isn't enough to see much, if anything, in the way of improvement, especially if you are only running 35 minutes or so. Increase that to 4 days a week, with one longer run on the weekend, and you'll see improvement. After C25k I did the One Hour Runner until I was up to 60 minutes continuous. Some people like the Bridge to 10k plans, but that means going back to walk/run. More miles will make you a more efficient and faster runner. Doing speedwork isn't really recommended until you are running more miles because it tends to lead to injury if you aren't properly warmed up and cooled down afterwards.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,593 Member
    After completing c25k I attended a local Parkrun and met several runners in my area. I continued running 3-4 times per week and eventually started the b210k podcast (bridge to 10k). After completion b210k, I learned that a local running club was offering a 10 week running clinic designed to help you improve your 5k time. I joined and have been following that training program for 8 weeks now. My time is definitely getting faster.

    I’d encourage you to check out your local groups and learn what types of programs are available.

    Congrats on completing c25k! It’s such a great program.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited October 2019
    Congratulations on finishing! I finished it too last year (then got pregnant and had a baby so now I'm back at square one lol) but my plan after finishing was to continue running a 5k 2x a week and then adding a "long" run on the weekends, adding either minutes or distance as time went on. And then reevaluate later on if I got bored with that. At the time I wasn't interested in doing the b210k program because of the time commitment. I would probably look through some different running plans online and see if any appeal to you time-wise.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited October 2019
    noblsheep wrote: »
    Common wisdom states that in order to go faster, you'll have to go longer. Sorry.

    That may be what common wisdom says, but advanced wisdom states that in order to run faster you need to run faster.

    I have no goals. Just bored and like burning the calories.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited October 2019
    Sounds like the common response is that my time will not improve. I am surprised by this and think I will test the theory. 5k twice a week for a month, what will happen? I will let you know the results of my experiment. Thanks!
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
    allother94 wrote: »
    noblsheep wrote: »
    Common wisdom states that in order to go faster, you'll have to go longer. Sorry.

    That may be what common wisdom says, but advanced wisdom states that in order to run faster you need to run faster.

    I have no goals. Just bored and like burning the calories.

    Advanced wisdom (actual runners and coaches) disagree with you (unless you like injuries and slowing down over time). Trust the process. It works (or don't and take your chances).
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited October 2019
    dewd2 wrote: »
    allother94 wrote: »
    noblsheep wrote: »
    Common wisdom states that in order to go faster, you'll have to go longer. Sorry.

    That may be what common wisdom says, but advanced wisdom states that in order to run faster you need to run faster.

    I have no goals. Just bored and like burning the calories.

    Advanced wisdom (actual runners and coaches) disagree with you (unless you like injuries and slowing down over time). Trust the process. It works (or don't and take your chances).

    I was all-state track in high school. Would I be considered an actual runner?

    It sounds like you are saying that if you run faster, you won’t run faster. That doesn’t seem possible. If you run faster, you will run faster. If you run slower, you will run slower. If you run longer, you may run faster or slower depending on your pace.

    Regardless, I don’t have time to run longer, as outlined in my post. My feeling is that I should improve my 5k time and endurance by running the 5k more. Similar to lifting weights, if you pick up 50lbs every day, it will become easier vs. the first time you do it.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
    Good luck.
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,522 Member
    There is an element of truth in that the more you practice the easier it becomes though if you take that theory to it's ultimate conclusion you would expect to eventually be breaking world records just by repeating an activity and that doesn't happen.

    Keep doing the 5k you have time for and consider a longer run at a weekend. This is my current plan as I have the same time constraints.
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited October 2019
    TheMrWobbly wrote: »
    There is an element of truth in that the more you practice the easier it becomes though if you take that theory to it's ultimate conclusion you would expect to eventually be breaking world records just by repeating an activity and that doesn't happen.

    Keep doing the 5k you have time for and consider a longer run at a weekend. This is my current plan as I have the same time constraints.

    Thanks! I have no doubt running more is the only way to improve your times once you reach a certain plateau. I just challenge the answers I received above that you can not improve your first 5k time by running a few more 5ks; and trying to do so will lead to an injury. Only one way to find out...


  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    dewd2 wrote: »
    Good luck.

    To you as well
  • allother94
    allother94 Posts: 588 Member
    edited November 2019
    Update on my experiment:

    I’ve run two more 5ks. I’ve peeled 4 minutes off my time. From 34m22s down to 30m20s. My guess is I’ll be around 27m -25m by the end of the month...
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,522 Member
    Nicely done. See you at the finish line before you start next year ;)

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