5k to 10k in 6 weeks?

that is fantastic, well done! You are well on the way to hitting the 10k now.

I had a bit of a break yesterday, planning to either run or go to the gym this afternoon.

I was 4 stone heavier in Jan this year and had never run more than 2 mins in my life

I've lost weight before, but piled it back on, so this time I had to find a way of changing things for good. I'm really enjoying it atm, just hope it lasts. I'm also lucky that all my kids are at school now and I don't work so I have the time to put in.

When was your last cs? It took me a long time to be able to do anything after mine too, I know how you feel. Even two years after, when the twins started nursery and I joined a gym, I couldn't do sit ups. Not sure when it did eventually go back to normal tbh!

Running for 55 minutes is excellent! I don't know any thing about yoga, but I think maybe you could work on your core strength and then your speed will pick up and you will be able to run faster, and so you can cover more distance without having to run longer and longer iyswim?

You can try things like sit ups, crunches, twist crunches, crunches with bicycle legs, planks, lunges, squats.

Running club been delayed til next week :( Did a 3.5 mile run yesterday, and then went to gym for a toning class after instead. Today I cycled 8 miles and did Body Pump. Am rather achy now, body pump was a killer today!

You are doing great Naebother. 3 weeks, so an extra km per week, and there you are!

In April this year I didn't think I could run. In mid September I did a half marathon and was thinking I could be faster, not patting myself on the back!

it's horrible that we do that to ourselves isn't it, to go from 'ohmygod, look, now I can 5 km! I am some amazing invincible running MACHINE' straight to 'why can I only run 6km? I am rubbish and should be put to death' etc., I am reasonably happy with my distances now but it's impossible not to notice that I am painfully slow throughout

anyway you've passed the halfway mark and on race day you will be carried along by the running-in-a-pack experience too, it's definitely within your reach

I find running in the dark really hard and tend to slow down - I get scared of injuring myself, so I think you did fantastically today! You will be fine if you can jsut do the longer ones at the weekend.

I signed up to a new running club at the gym today - eek!! It will be my first experience of running with other people.

I've been working hard, did spin Thurs, ran Fri, body attack Sat, body pump yesterday and spin today. Can't seem to actually get any weight off, but my jeans are falling down!

you are doing really really well, you could very easily just not go out there at all! so anything is a bonus isn't it

is there a day when you can have a whole hour, and go out for an hour, with a walking break or run the first 45 minutes then walk back if/when you run out of steam? There's the km in your legs and also the time on your feet and building both together should work - I'm sure that's how the c25k programme works, you get used to propelling yourself along under your own steam for that length of time?

Nae I think the first 10k I had done about 6-7 max in training. The next time I used the training routine I wrote further down the thread, can still remember how awful that last 2k felt and vowed never again. I think out of around 600 runners I was 543rd!!! Mortifying, some of them were much older than me but obvs much fitter. My time then was 1hr 10, I've since managed to get below 60 mins and once even 54 mins but now I always do more training.

It's def doable. I reached 5k in about 6 weeks, and then about 5 weeks later did my first 10k. I was very slow at that point, I think it took me 1 hr 25 mins for the first ever 10. I kept running throughout but prob could have walked faster during some of the uphill bits! I worked on distance to start with and didn't really worry about speed or interval training.

I would def work on strength, I've joined the gym last month and have knocked another 3 minutes off my PB for 5k, I've really noticed my speed pick up.

I wouldn't worry about 3x a week being too little neither. I personally find that I am best with 3 or 4 runs a week. I don't run well on consecutive days, I seem to need that rest in between. I do gym classes, cycle, walk, weights etc on the off days and it really seems to be helping my speed much more than extra running would.

As you get more experienced hopefully things like your period won't bother you so much. I used to be very iffy if I hadn't eaten, or if it was too soon after I had eaten, etc. Now I just go for it whenever.

I might have been saying the opposite, like for the marathon, people rarely do more than 20, 22, 24 at most miles before their first one. But I think it is time on your legs that really counts, so if you can get to a point where you are comfortable (ish) running for at least an hour that is surely close enough and puts you in a better position than you were at the start of the six weeks?

Sorry mitchy not Mitchum!!

Also Mitchum is right the very first 10k I ever did I hadn't run the full distance at all, ever! It didn't go we'll and I ended up walking most of the final 2k. So I do think you need to run the full distance a few times even at a very slow jog.

Nae yes I notice a definite difference throughout the month, usually have most energy/endurance ability in week before and first few days of cycle then feel utterly wiped out for the next week then gradual return to normal energy levels. I think this is reflected in my running times and speeds.