Couch to 5K - week 9 help!!

[user1465146157]

Hello
I'm not a runner at all but started the Couch to 5K in the new year and have stuck with it. I've reached Week 9 and am really proud that I've carried on, but I'm aware that I'm 2 runs away from the end and not close to 5k in terms of the distance?!

I must be going slower than 'normal'? Or is this usual?

I did the 30 minute run today (week 9 run 1) and while I met the time without stopping, I'm on 3.67km - so I'm not sure I can get to the end of the programme this week and make it to 5k?

Has anyone else done this and felt the same? Or am I going to magically gain 1.5k by the end of the week?!

I was thinking maybe it's me being tired - I do run quite slowly for fear of needing to stop if I go too fast, and I have a young baby so not sleeping through the night. Could diet be a factor - so should I eat a particular thing before I run?

Any tips on how I can get faster / have more energy during the run I'd be really grateful!

thank you :-)

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.

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.

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.

@willow thank you! I struggle at the moment to get to 30 mins but I think in time I could carry on... 5k just feels so mammoth then I'm already tired after 3.5!

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.

@williowrosenburg (sorry tagging properly!)

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.

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.....

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 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.

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

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

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!

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!!!

@randomsabreuse thank you - that's amazing that you've built up that time! I suppose I took the app title quite literally! good to know its not unusual to be going at this rate - I wasn't sure if I was running 'wrong' or too slowly.

thanks everyone for comments!!
really helpful - I didn't think of counting the warm up walk / warm down walk into the 5K thats probably how they get away with the title haha!

will definitely just try to enjoy... I think its helped me having a figure to work to, so maybe I'll just focus on the 30 mins for a bit longer!

x

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

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.

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.

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.

@mama4321 - amazing link, thank you so much! x

@LouNatics thats so interesting! makes me feel much better

@Sammysquiz
@BogRollBOGOF

thank you :-) so helpful x

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.

@rbe78 that's the thing, I think I thought by this week I'd suddenly love running but it's still hard! Thanks for the tip I'll try mixing it up!