? for C25K grads

[wolverine2]

Wondering how your first 5k went after finishing the program-

I'm on week 7 of C25K, which is running 25 min straight. Week 8 goes to 28 minutes, and week 9- 30 min. I am pretty slow (and it's not easy to do the whole 25 min- but I haven't had to stop yet) and will not be able to do 5k in 30 min. I have my first 5k on Nov 6, which is at the end of week 9- I won't have ever run that far yet if I follow the program. Should I just be able to keep going even though I'll have only run 30 min at that point? Should I try to run longer before then? I have no time goal for the 5k- just to finish and not stop running (if I can). Just a little worried I won't be ready!

[pb&j]

Go for it!! I think you'll find on race day that the adrenaline will make up for any difference in mileage. Just remember to go out SLOW so you have plenty of energy for the rest of the race!!

[Twoboos]

You can do it!! My goal was exactly yours, to finish and not stop running (oh, and not pass out ).

My "last day" of the C25k actually was my race. I finished in around 33min I think. (I have it written down on the race number, which I can't find in my messy desk!)

I have always heard for longer races (so I assume for 5k's, too) you never really run the full race length in training, but you do it during the race. DH was just talking about this with a friend who ran a marathon.

According to the plan I did, at the end of week 9 you'll be running 30min, and then week 10 is 35min. So you'll just run 35min.

Seriously, if I can run a 5k, so can you!! My motto regarding running has always been "only run when chased" and I haven't gone past the 5k mark yet. And I am OK with that.

You can definitely run it!!!

[cckwmh]

I just did my first 5K today, even though I was only at the end of week 5(20 minutes running) of C25K. I had planned the last day of week 9 being the race today, but life got in the way. I went for it and finished. I was slow. my goal was not to walk, which I had to because I choked when I took a sip of water. (I never drank before when I was running and apparently it is not easy!!) I walked for about 1 minutes of the race. Although I did not reach the goal of not walking, I did finish it and under the time I had in mind.

What I did was use the week 9 podcast, walked the 5 minutes warm up and paused it, then jogged for a few minutes to warm up then stretched. When the race started I was all set to start the podcast at the running portion. When i got to 5 minute of running left on the podcast, I new I had longer than 5 minutes to go, so I rewinded the podcast approx 5 minutes. It was enough time. Running is not easy for me and I really relied on the podcasts to get through the training and the race today.

You can do it, take your time. Don't let others set your pace for you, which is hard at the beginning of the race. Good Luck!!!

[wolverine2]

Well, now I'm even further behind- have had some weird viral thing for a week with fevers coming and going- haven't run in 8 days. Will probably have to back out of my 5K on Saturday- I've been so tired I can barely make it through the day let alone exercise. I miss the gym! I signed up for a 4-miler with my SIL on Thanksgiving day, so I guess I'll aim for that instead, but I wanted to achieve my first 5K first!

[YouAreTheFocus]

Wondering how your first 5k went after finishing the program-

I'm on week 7 of C25K, which is running 25 min straight. Week 8 goes to 28 minutes, and week 9- 30 min. I am pretty slow (and it's not easy to do the whole 25 min- but I haven't had to stop yet) and will not be able to do 5k in 30 min. I have my first 5k on Nov 6, which is at the end of week 9- I won't have ever run that far yet if I follow the program. Should I just be able to keep going even though I'll have only run 30 min at that point? Should I try to run longer before then? I have no time goal for the 5k- just to finish and not stop running (if I can). Just a little worried I won't be ready!

This is why I've always done this program based on distance rather than time. I wanted to make sure I could run 5k, not that I could run a certain amount of time. I'm slow, so if I followed the time option I wouldn't be at 5K by the end of the program.

That said, if you can run 30 min straight ok, and aren't totally dying, I think you'd be able to do the 5K. The excitement will carry you through! My first 5k after c25k was 33 min. My 2nd was 31 min. Also, for me, once I could run 25-30 min ok, it was pretty easy to add more & more time on. My first 5k was in Nov and in Dec I did 10k.

FYI, the worst part for me was going from week 6 to week 7--going from 3/4 mile to 2.5 miles was too much of an increase and I had to repeat week 6. And it sounds like you're already past that hump!

Unfortunately, after that I fell off the wagon and am now starting all over again.