Couch to 5K - week 9 help!!

A 5k under 30 minutes is quick for me, as in almost dead at the end, and I’ve been running for years (but I’m still pretty slow compared to others). I’m able to run 5k easily, but not at a quick pace.

Just take it at your own pace, and once you can go for 30 minutes you can then either try to go for 5k, or try to go a bit quicker so you go further in 30 mins.

Oh and I still find it hard to run 5km in under 30 mins. I do it more for the enjoyment of being out and having time to myself, so not really worried about running fast. There is no rule to say what speed you need to run at. Main thing is to enjoy.

Firstly you’ve done amazing and should be proud of yourself. Try not to worry about times or distance. Just try to enjoy the sense of achievement from running continuously for that length of time! That’s what I did when I first started with C25k.

I’ve also realised from running over a year now that I had to let go of feeling scared to feel tired and out of breath. That is the only way I got better. When I first did 5k it meant pushing myself to go just a bit further each time. To run for an extra 5 minutes even though I was knackered and my legs hurt. Even if you can push yourself to run a minute extra each time your body will get stronger and you’ll get there. No need to try and push yourself for the extra in one go. If you do this you probably surprise yourself at how long you can go!

Once you’re running 5km comfortably try running shorter distances but a but faster every couple of runs. That will help you speed up over 5km.

Very few women are doing 5k in 30 minutes after couch to 5k. The programme is more about building up to running for 30 minutes consistently than about running 5k and once you can run for 30 minutes without stopping you can run further because you're over the toughest bit.

I'm overweight (29bmi) and around 5'6. To get under 30 minutes I was running 4 times a week including a longer run (up to 50 minutes) as well as faster intervals. My programme was just over 2 months and I could run 5k in 35 minutes at the start - managed to get down to just over 28 minutes.

When I did it the other year i def repeated a few weeks so it took me more then the 9 weeks.

Take things back a bit. Build your confidence...that's all c25k is.... a confidence builder. As they say once you can run non stop for 30 minutes there's no reason why you can't run for longer then that... it's just you mentally tell yourself you have to stop.

What if you didn't listen and you just ran.... ran until you reached 5k... doesn't matter how long it takes you, as long as you keep moving forward.