Extended C25K?

Nopedotjpeg
Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,805 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm trying to adjust C25K so that my friend and I can ease into it more gradually. The program seems to ramp up pretty quickly after Week 4. Does anyone know a good way to adjust it? I'm hoping we could be able to get to 5K distance with only extending it 3 more weeks, but I'm not sure. I'm doing this with a friend, and I know if it was my first time trying this I'd be scared to make a jump from a 3/4 mile jog to a 2 mile jog within 2 days. Hell, it took me 4 months to build up to a 5K distance myself, though I didn't have as much structure as this plan.

So, anyone who has done this for a longer period of time than the prescribed 9 weeks? And how did you adjust it?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    You can do each week as many times as you want in order to become comfortable. I think they talk about this a little on the site, but I know lots of people (including me) take much longer than the nine weeks. It's your program. Do it in a way that you are comfortable, and you'll become a life-long runner!


  • mostaverage
    mostaverage Posts: 202 Member
    Think what most folks do is to repeat a week here and again, once you feel you've hit a tough patch. HTH
    Remember the program is a guideline, the pace you determine dependant on your fitness level & what your body is telling you.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,805 Member
    I've read about repeating weeks before, but I think it might breed the mentality of "oh we screwed up last week." I don't know. I'm trying to find a pattern in the last 5 weeks and it seems so chaotic in contrast to the consistency of the first 4 weeks.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I was scared to make that jump, but I did it! Before planning any sort of adjustment, I'd say go for it with the program as is - I surprised myself and completed that longer run, and I haven't had to repeat a day or a week yet (starting week 8 tomorrow)! And I've never been a runner. I am willing to repeat any part of it if necessary, but I'm also up for the challenge of going for it.

    Deciding to extend it before giving it a shot almost seems like setting yourself up to fail rather than having the confidence to go for it and possibly surprising yourself with what you can do. :bigsmile: Give it your all, and by your all, I mean jogging really slowly if necessary - slow jogging is still jogging, and awesome if you can finish that 20 minutes - and if you have to walk part of it, no shame! then repeat that day until you can run the whole 20.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,805 Member
    Do you guys tend to go with time over distance? I've been a runner before so I always liked distance over time myself, especially since C25K likes to assume you're in good enough shape to be doing a 10 min/mile which I wasn't even after running for more than a year back when I did run.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I run outside, so I run the program on my iPhone in an armband and just go with the verbal prompts, so it's just time for me. I figure I'll work on speed & distance once I get through the program. :smile:
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    Do you guys tend to go with time over distance? I've been a runner before so I always liked distance over time myself, especially since C25K likes to assume you're in good enough shape to be doing a 10 min/mile which I wasn't even after running for more than a year back when I did run.

    I always go by the time. The distance will come. I didn't run my first mile until the 20 minute jog at the end of Week 5. That was a crazy jump but not nearly as bad as you'd think and I've been doing a minimum of 1.5 miles ever since. My last 2 jogs have been over 2 miles without walking.

    And just so you understand where I started...On week 1 day 1 I got done and thought I was going to die. I was practically hyperventilating and I spent the entire rest of the day and most of the next day unable to move. I had never been able to jog even 1/4 mile in my entire life! Now I'm averaging 6 miles per week of jogging and another 5-6 of walking easily.
  • heatherholmes25
    heatherholmes25 Posts: 9
    I was doing C25K and doing great... I had lost weight, lost inches, and felt wonderful. I got to week 4 and started remodeling my house... needless to say, its been 2-1/2 weeks now and I have not gotten back into my routine. I need some encouragement b/c for some reason I keep making stupid excuses. Do I start back where I left off or jump to where I am supposed to be... I was training for a 5k run on April 21, 2012. I still want to do the race b/c I don't want to feel like I have let myself down. Please someone let me know how I can do this... Thanks!
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    I was doing C25K and doing great... I had lost weight, lost inches, and felt wonderful. I got to week 4 and started remodeling my house... needless to say, its been 2-1/2 weeks now and I have not gotten back into my routine. I need some encouragement b/c for some reason I keep making stupid excuses. Do I start back where I left off or jump to where I am supposed to be... I was training for a 5k run on April 21, 2012. I still want to do the race b/c I don't want to feel like I have let myself down. Please someone let me know how I can do this... Thanks!

    Had the same issue. In fact I think I made a post about it somewhere...

    I kept blaming the weather or using the "too tired" excuse. Eventually I just said "F*** It" and went out and kept going where I left off. Finished week 7. 2 days later started Week 8. Tonight or tomorrow I will continue. I had done 1 jog in 2 weeks when I decided I had come too far to stop. If you're at week 4 you're almost halfway there...those thoughts are what kept me going. I almost stopped halfway through but thought that would be a waste. I almost stopped a few weeks ago but realized I'm almost done. In fact I'm only a week and a half from being done and that is definitely motivation for me.
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