Question for Couch to 5K grads

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  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 192 Member
    Just be careful with speed work; most running coaches will say that new runners should not really attempt speed work until they have a good 6-12 months of solid running experience under their belt. Just building your endurance is the most important thing at this stage, and faster times will come. I would just keep repeating the final week of your plan, and maybe vary it a bit...throw in some hills, increase your speed just a LITTLE bit at certain points in your run, etc. It is important to only do ONE thing at a time: for example, if you want to put in a little hill work, put some in on one of your running days that week. The following week try out a few fartleks. But don't do both in the same week, and only do that type of work during one run of the week. And maybe now and again try to add a little bit more distance to your run; I know you do not specifically want to add distance, but just putting in a little more will help your speed down the road. Good luck!

    Well I don't know about 'speed work'... what I'm really saying is that I would like to continue to do 30 minute runs, but to keep the same feeling of motivation I had while I was doing the C25K... I'm worried I'll get bored and I don't think just running for longer is the solution...
  • niallse
    niallse Posts: 58
    First off congratulations on finishing your c25k. It is a fantastic tool and I will never forget how hard my first run was 18 months ago.

    My advice to you is:
    1) Find your nearest parkrun and go join in. There are many many like minded peole out there who go along to their local organised free run every Saturday morning. Many use it simply as a nice jog, others use it as a race against the clock. You will gain that competitive streak and enjoy running with loads of people who may soon become friends.

    2) If you dont fancy parkrun, why not try fartleks. I don't know if you have heard of these, but they are simply busts of speed that you randomly add into your normal run. EG run at full steam from one tree to the next, or for 20 seconds, and then drop back to your normal running pace. You set the rules and it is totally random.

    I hope this helps.

    Mick
  • i_am_asparagus
    i_am_asparagus Posts: 336 Member
    Congrats! I finished C25K last year and I'm still running 3 times a week. I started stretching one of the runs pretty much straight away 5-10 mins at a time until I could run for an hour, I continued to use the first couple of weeks of the program for running intervals one day a week and I joined my local parkrun to try to do a speedy one for my third run. It has worked brilliantly for me, I've shaved off 7 minutes off my 5K time in 5 months, run a few 10Ks and I'm currently training for my first half marathon. Just keep at it! :happy:
  • i_am_asparagus
    i_am_asparagus Posts: 336 Member
    Varying the route isn't a bad idea... throwing in some more hills, for example!

    Yes, hills are always a good idea!
  • cathomer
    cathomer Posts: 88
    Apparently it's time spent and distance rather than speed, it's good to keep going at a comfortable pace, unless you want to start racing I guess?
    I'm only week 3, but I'll be aiming to keep up the running 30 minutes at least 3 times a week to build up on fitness until it gets a lot easier, then I'll increase my time. Eventually I'll find a 5-10k route to do so I'm always doing the same distance and maybe try to improve on time, I'd quite like to get competitive in the future but it's a long way down the line.
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 192 Member
    Congrats! I finished C25K last year and I'm still running 3 times a week. I started stretching one of the runs pretty much straight away 5-10 mins at a time until I could run for an hour, I continued to use the first couple of weeks of the program for running intervals one day a week and I joined my local parkrun to try to do a speedy one for my third run. It has worked brilliantly for me, I've shaved off 7 minutes off my 5K time in 5 months, run a few 10Ks and I'm currently training for my first half marathon. Just keep at it! :happy:

    Thanks for your feedback. I like the idea of just extending the length of one of the weekly runs and doing speed intervals on the other days.

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