Couch to 5K - week 9 help!!

Week 8 run 1 done

I pushed myself a litter faster on this one and really felt it

Next run Wednesday and going to take it a little easier

It was also noticeably hot out there this evening!

21 degrees today tomorrow and Wednesday and then it’s forecast for snow next Tuesday!!

I finished the C25K programme two weeks ago, I was managing 3.5k in the 30 minutes...I’m super slow! For the last run I decided to try a 5K and it took 42.50 but I did it. I’ve just done my 2nd 5K today. My plan is to try and increase my distance on a Monday run and a shorter run Weds and Friday but working on my speed. Hoping to eventually get my time down.

I did 5km in 30:26 once, once a long time ago. I've been running for just over a year and tend to run 5km in 33mins. For quite a while last year I was running 2miles as that is one of the loops near my house a d found after doing that for a while my speed in the 5km improved

@user1465146157 I have a Garmin Vivoactive 4 (which I love!) but I think most of the makes will have a similar function. I set up a workout of the distance I want to run, and then set a minimum pace. If I drop below this it vibrates. I have found it hugely helpful and have knocked 2 minutes off my 5km time. I think before I used to slow down so gradually that I didn’t really notice I was doing it, but now I like to obey my watch

When you're comfortably (ha! I Still don't find any part of running actually comfortable...) running for 30 mins, try and mix it up a bit.

On Mondays I choose a nice gentle route and take it easy, but try to run for a bit longer/further every few weeks. On Wednesdays I only run for 30 mins, but do interval training (e.g. run faster for the next three lamposts, then gentle jog til recovered etc). On Fridays I choose a hillier route, and accept that I won't go as far as on Mondays, but that's ok.

I have sub 30 times in parkrun if I'm fresh, trained for a recent race, flat route, put my mind to it...
Normally running parkrun is about 31-32 mins. (And many slower if I've got the DCs with me)

If I'm running 5k on my own it's often 40-45 mins. There's roads to cross, hills, mud, gates, giving in to my calves being whingy...

It's just highly ambitious that a woman running around a standard neighbourhood area would complete the plan covering 5k.

I count warm-ups/ cool downs as it's part of the time on feet and I'd probably forget anyway.

Longer term, when you're comfortable with week 9, start building up the time on one run. There arw C210k plans that work in a similar way. Stamina is easier to build than speed, then you can learn to push harder with intervals.

There are 3 C25k! podcasts which are useful that I still use years later. Indeed I ran 11 mi this wwwk looping C25k w6.2 over and over for 10 mins run, 3 mins walk because I know I can run 10 mins at a time.

I’m not a runner at all but started the Couch to 5K in the new year and have stuck with it.

You ARE a runner!! You go running & are therefore a runner Well done, you’ve done brilliantly to get to this point. Loads of people aren’t running 5K at the end of the programme, but it doesn’t matter and running for 30 mins is a great achievement regardless of distance.

If you find that in time you want to improve your speeds I’ve found a running watch useful which vibrates if you drop below a certain pace. I’ve been gradually getting faster using this technique.

And that poll doesn’t weight for sex.

Considering the male 5km world record is 12.35 and the female 14.06, gathering mixed sex information in a poll will skew it.

By those times, a woman running a 5km in 35.25 is running the same time proportionally as a man running a 31.45.

This is a very reassuring poll
healthunlocked.com/couchto5k/polls/139487199/what-was-the-maximum-distance-you-ran-in-30-minutes-in-w9-please-round-down-to-the-nearest-distance./result

I echo the above - I started C25k in October and finished just before Christmas, and was definitely not running 5k in that 30 minutes. To achieve that you need to be running a kilometre in 6 minutes

I've carried on running three times a week since I finished, and ran my first 10k last week - but am still not reliably running a 6 minute kilometre! I averaged 6'11'' in my run yesterday, so getting there.

Keep going, and don't fixate too much on the 5k - the achievement is the running solidly for 30 mins. Longer distances will come from there.

Well done!!!

Yes, I definitely echo what everyone else has said - the plan should really be called Couch to 30 mins, but it's not quite as catchy!

It took me a VERY long time after graduating to get to 5k in 30 mins.

If you haven't already, have a look on this forum - healthunlocked.com/couchto5k I've had so much advice from the posters, it's a really supportive community.

Good luck with the rest of week 9 - graduation is in sight!

Also - looking at the Jeff method of running, lots of people find they are faster on their 5km when they introduce a run/walk/run/walk/run/walk program

If you include your warm up fast walk and end cool down fast walk you’d have easily covered 5km in 40 mins and that’s not bad going at all

I’m on week 8 and don’t see me getting any faster than a 7.5m/km anytime soon. That’s 37.5 mins for 5km

I can run the distance just not in the time required.

I’m also up in the night still with breastfeeding baby so maybe that doesn’t help but also I’ve never ran before and 8 or 9 weeks is still so new

Just to be running non stop for 30 minutes is an achievement I never thought I’d even try to attempt

I’d love to get down to 35 mins for 5km which means getting under a 7m/km speed

I do my 5k in 35-40 mins depending on which route I take/how I feel that day. I think I hit 30 mins once about 4 years ago but I have no interest in doing it fast, I just want to be able to do 5k to keep me moderately fit.

Oh and I still can’t run 5km in under 30 minutes. I’ve shaved more than 5 minutes off it since my first one but I’m not there yet.

I’ve done c25k three times and the first was the hardest. Really, it’s not about distance, but couch to running for thirty minutes doesn’t sound so catchy. If you think about it, all of the increments and goals throughout have been time related. Do you remember the 20 minute run and how mammoth that felt? Now you are at thirty and that was only a couple of weeks ago!

To get to the 5km, I think my first one was around week 8, I just did what I did for that 20 minute run. I gave myself permission to go as slowly as I wanted, didn’t matter if it was slower than a walk as long as it was a running gait, I chose a good day for it and an easy route, started the c25k all and instead of stopping at 30 minutes I carried on through the warm down. Finally got to my first 5k at the 37 minute mark, but honestly, I promise you if you can fast walk for five minutes, run for thirty minutes and then fast walk for five minutes, you can run slowly for 37/8.....