Increasing length/speed

[yvi]

So, I am (quite successfully) doing the Couch-to-5k program at the moment. I just completed week 6 today, which means I can now very slowly run 25 minutes without stopping. There are only three more weeks of the program left and they are all 3 days of the same length. Next week's will be 25 minutes, the week after 28 minutes, after that 30 minutes.

I am an extremely slow runner/jogger right now. I did the 25 minutes on a hilly section, but my 20 minute run in rather plan terrain the week before, which wasn't any faster than today's, was only 2 kilometers long. However, on June 16th, I want to run a 5K. I am moving in July and want to do a 5K before that - but the only one that is going on n my hometown in June is a rather fast one. last year, the slowest 5K runner did the run in 43 minutes. This seems like madness to me right now. I don't want to be particularly fast, of course, but jogging the whole course and not finishing ten minutes after the second-to-last person would be nice :)

And this is where I am asking the wisdom of you people :) The path I am running now is really beautiful and I hate having to turn around and go back. The full path would be 4.5 kilometers, though. Do you think I can already do one of my runs as a 'long run' and jog/walk that distance? Would that make sense?

Comments

[ilanarama]

Are you asking whether you can extend the length of one of your run days to 4.5 km rather than ~2km? The answer is a qualified yes. It's a little hard for me to assess when you have some runs in time and others in distance. But the important thing is that 1) you not extend your runs for too much longer over your previous run, and 2) you not put too many of your mileage eggs in one day's basket, so to speak - your long run should not be any more than half your total weekly mileage.

I looked at the program, and here is my suggestion. Do two days as with the program, and the third, run/walk for longer, but I wouldn't try to cover the full 4.5K right away. If your run days are 2.5K, maybe run/walk 3.5K on the third day. The next week, you will have longer runs and a longer walk/run - maybe 2.8 and 4.0. Then on the last week, you run 3K twice and run/walk the whole 4.5K.

I am afraid that if you will be running a maximum of 3K before the race, you will probably find the 5K quite challenging. Not to say you shouldn't do it! But as you start running more and more, you will naturally become faster. I am personally an advocate of run/walking longer and longer distances, rather than concentrating on running straight through. I think that at the distances you are currently running, you are really not accumulating enough running to improve much yet.

[yvi]

*nods* Thank you!

I am running only by time right now, between 2 and 2.5 kilometers in 25 minutes. I wish the 5K was a few weeks later, but I am afraid that with the move, I'll even have trouble keeping up with my running... I can sign up until a week before, so maybe I'll just try to stretch the third runs a bit and then see how I feel the week before.