[brooksrm]

It's the end of February, and I've committed myself to meet the goal of being able to run an entire 5k. In late September, the Race for the Cure is at my town, and I've started a running program to build up from my history of not running at all, to where I'll be able to run and even enjoy it. Right now what I enjoy most is the pride of knowing I ran a little, but I hope soon I can start getting that running-high people talk about.

I started last week with a 5 minute walk, running 60 seconds and walking 90 a few times, and then a 5 minute walk cool down at the end. I did it in time with a podcast structured around a program called Couch to 5k.

Yesterday I started week 2, which is running 90 seconds and walking 2 minutes.

I'm kind of posting here for accountability reasons, but while I'm at it, any thoughts on which speed I should be aiming for during my run intervals? I've been playing with 5.5 - 6.0 on the treadmill. 5.0 feels like I'm not putting enough into it, but 6.0 feels like a challenge. I think I'm on the right track, but looking for confirmation.

[Haley8203]

I think that you could run longer if you lower your speed...that's why I go 3.8-4mph and I went from no running to my first 5k in about 3 months, you're probably gonna feel like you're going way too slow but after 10 minutes you'll feel differently lol if you just want the exercise then by all means keep your intensity but for running distance I advise you too slow down. Good luck!

[caitybates]

i am also doing couch to 5k and i run the intervals at a little over 6 and walk at a little over 3. however i noticed that im usually running a bit faster than even some of the really fit people who are maintaining their running for 20-30 minutes, so i think ill probably have to slow down when the intervals get longer (im only at the third week). i think you should just run as fast as you can manage, as long as you are fully recovered at the end of the walking interval.

[Fat Pants]

Hey there! I'm also doing C25k right now (just finishing up Week 2) and I definitely find that running at a slower pace helps me go longer. Everything I've read for beginning runners is to start out slow and go for time, not speed/distance. My goal is to run for the entire 30 minutes and then work on building speed, which will also increase my distance. Right now I run about 4.4 and walk at about 3.4. Even that's enough to wear me out!

[CakeBatter]

I am not exactly doing C25K program but I am buildiing up to run a 5K. I run around 4.5 MPH. It is slow at first but heh I do tire out after about 10 minutes and then IT IS a challenge. But I can run up to 2 miles this way...

[aneleh]

I'm doing a 10k in April, also with intervals. Right now I walk at 3.5mph and run at 4.8mph when the intervals are 10min or longer and 5mph when they are 3-5 min long

[mayness]

I've done C25K in the past, I think it's a great program! Once the weather improves a bit more, and there are at least 3 above-freezing days each week, I would like to get back into it. I've been out running a few times in the last month, and I'm probably at about a week 4 or 5 level. There are almost always threads in the exercise forum for people doing this plan to support each other, you should look around.

As for speed, you should feel like it's challenging, but like you could still carry on a conversation if you wanted. I don't recommend doing this in a gym but if you run at home, try talking to yourself to see if you're pushing too hard. If you wanted to be able to run the 5K in 30 minutes, you're looking at around 6.0mph.

Keep in mind that running on a treadmill doesn't always translate well into running on a track or outside or whatever. I've heard some people recommend that you put the treadmill at a 1-2% incline to simulate the extra effort it takes to actually move yourself forward. So if you start running outdoors (which I recommend at least doing at least a few times before running an outdoor race) you might find that you're slower.

[Fat Pants]

Originally Posted by mayness

Keep in mind that running on a treadmill doesn't always translate well into running on a track or outside or whatever. I've heard some people recommend that you put the treadmill at a 1-2% incline to simulate the extra effort it takes to actually move yourself forward. So if you start running outdoors (which I recommend at least doing at least a few times before running an outdoor race) you might find that you're slower.

Totally agree. This became pretty apparent to me when my DH and I go and walk the Race for the Cure 5k route on occassion. We both agreed that once we build up running for 30ish minutes straight, to switch to running the actual 5k route... the first mile or so is uphill, but the rest is mild... at least I'll get the hard part over with in the beginning!

[lobon]

i'm getting set for my first official 5k in 2 weeks (i've done that distance in the gym several times). i also did the couch to 5k program. i initially ran at 5-6mph early in the program but when it got to the sustained 20+ min runs, I couldn't keep up. I kept getting frustrated and quitting. I've backed down to 4.7 on the runs and can keep it up for 30+ minutes. My goal is to keep around 4.7 mph pace and run the whole 5k which works out to ~39 minutes. I figured that would be a realistic goal time for a beginner

[KimL1214]

I started C25K Monday this week and plan on repeating Week 1 next week as I decided to start a challenge on fatsecret.com to keep me more accountable, but I do have to repeat the first week to be with the group. I've been playing with between 5.0-5.5 MPH for running and then between 3.0-3.5 for walking. I really want to be in under 40 minutes this year when I run my 5K in May (I came in at 46 minutes last May, but walked a lot of it), but in order to do that I need to be going around 5MPH the whole time (12 minute mile). So I figure I should start out there and hopefully be able to push myself to 6MPH or higher by the time my race rolls around.