Couch to 5k running speed

[Midlifecrisisxamillion]

I'm on week 6 of Couch to 5k so I've done the 20 minute run. Today's was two lots of 10 minutes.

I have a half marathon at the end of the summer.

I'm worried about my speed and being on my feet for ages during the half marathon. In 30 minutes today I did 2 miles so approx 15 minutes per mile which is too slow for a half.

Should I plough on with Couch to 5k and hope that increasing my fitness will also increase my speed or should I go back to the start of Couch to 5k from week 1 or 2 and work on speed as I build it back up?

Or is there a better way?

Distance first, then speed. Complete the c25k first. As you build distance, fitness will improve

Great. Thank you!

A lot of people won't run 5k by the end of c25k as the longest run is 30minutes. But if you can run 30min non-stop then you won't be far off it and can probably do the 5k distance. If the half marathon is your goal then you need to work on building up your distance and speed should improve with fitness. Once you're at about 10k for your longest run I would build in a speed work session once a week to help with that.

That's really useful. Thank you.

I went from wk1 of C25k to a HM in a year. It wasn't planned, and just evolved from wanting to do a specific event a few months after C25k then getting talked into the HM.

PPs are right. Stamina comes first, and I found C25k the hardest stage of the process. Once I got past that I continued on a C210k plan. Then life got in the way. Then I did a 12wk HM that picked back up from 5k and added on roughly 10 mins per week to the longest run.

The stamina from running gently for longer periods builds your aerobic fitness. When that has a a good base, it then becomes easier to play with speed on short runs with bursts of short intervals.

Parkrun is worth a try. I use it for my faster specifically paced runs because it's mentally much easier to run with a flow of people.
Race days are faster for that reason, and also because you've tapered and rested, so you will be faster than on training runs.

My 5k time improved hugely over 6 months but never dropped below 35 mins as I didn't care about speed but stamina and strength. I did a half on that speed no problems and was mid pack for my 40's age group. You aren't going to win the half so why be focused on time? Injury free completion and enjoyment of the achievement is most important surely.

I'm not focussed too much on time but equally don't want to be on my feet for over 3 hours in the half if I can help it. There'll be a lot of standing around at the start and end as it is so if I can finish in 2 hours something then that'll be better than 3 hours something.

Thanks. Good to know. Yeah I think I'll start Park Run over the next few weeks.

Yep always just focus on slowly building up the distance, focusing on speed usually leads to injury particularly when you're new to it, also don't put too much pressure on yourself, you've got lots of time between now and the half, I try and focus on the aim to complete it, whether I've stopped to walk at any point or whether I've gone at snails pace. I've built my speed up over the years, but actually enjoy the slower runs now as it makes the run nicer

As pps said, speed comes with upping the distance (at least for the first couple of years or so until you plateau, but you can worry about that later!)

I started c25k one New Year, completed that running 5k in just over 30 mins, and then did my first 10k and half race that summer and autumn. My first half was 2:20 but I was just glad I'd managed to run it all (sort of!)
Since then my half time has gone down to 1:35, just through consistent and regular training. Nothing fancy, no special diet or recovery shakes or any of that - just real food and regular running.

Those times stress me out as you see your initial times as slow but I'm more 45 minute 5k and probably 3.20 ish for half marathon at this rate.

Those times stress me out as you see your initial times as slow but I'm more 45 minute 5k and probably 3.20 ish for half marathon at this rate

Well yes - but you're only on week six! At that stage of the programme my projected 5k time would have been far slower than 45 mins I'm sure. And you can't possibly even guess at a half marathon time at this point.

You will speed up significantly as your distance and endurance grows. I didn't believe it myself. And I certainly didn't believe that the very slow, very overweight me who could barely get through week 1 run 1 of c25k would go on to run marathons.

For what it’s worth it took me about 39 minutes to cover 5k when I did week 6 of Couch to 5K on an entirely downhill route. That included the periods of walking and a bit extra at the end of the session to take me to 5K. I’ve stuck with running and I can now run 34/35 minutes comfortably, even on hillier routes. That’s a chatty pace for me now - 39 minutes certainly wasn’t when I began! I’m still a new runner (it’s just about a year since I finished Couch to 5K) but if you stick with it you will definitely see improvements in your pace. I did a half marathon last year and there were lots of runners who finished at a similar time to me. You might think everyone is a very fast runner but there’s loads of us in the 2:30-3:15 etc. bracket!

No one really runs 5k in 30 mins straight after C25k. Just work on your distances and the speed will naturally come. I’m so much faster now than I was at the start. I haven’t tried. It’s just come naturally. It will for you too if you keep at it.

The cut-off time for most half-marathons is around 4 hours, so I wouldn’t worry about being too slow. Just keep going with your training, and I think you’ll be surprised about how far you’ll have come (both literally and metaphorically!) by the time of your half.

The cut-off time for most half-marathons is around 4 hours

Is this true? I don't think I've ever known a half with a cut off time of 4hrs, other than perhaps the Great North Run.
Even Run for All, which organises a lot of the big city half marathons that have a lot of fun runners, have a cut off of 3:30.

@Midlifecrisisxamillion my half marathon time was 3hr 10! Fine for me. As I said I was mid pack for my age group. Nothing to worry about. Many people walk it!

Cut off times vary depending on the scale of the event and need checking individually. 3 hours is a fairly common cut off if the numbers are too low to justify the logistics of marshalls/ road closures for a prolonged period, but many go to 3:30+. Generally bigger events (especially those that attract charity runners) or multi-distance events with lapped courses can manage a larger range of finish times.
Checking previous event finishing times is worth doing.

I did 25 minutes without stopping today after having a few days without running because of a sore knee. I only managed 1.9 miles in 25 minutes but at least I ran the whole thing without stopping I guess.

Well done!
Don't fret about speed/ distance covered. The objective is purely to build up the longer blocks of time.

Thank you

C25k is more about building up your stamina. Once you’ve completed it and can run 5km without stopping, then I’d recommend signing up to Runna which will create you a half marathon plan.

I’ve been using it to work towards to a sub 60minute 10km, it gives you a plan with a mix of short runs, long runs, and intervals. And it’s really been working at improving my time.