runners | Increasing length/speed

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?

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I'm still a beginner/wannabe runner, after having tried to become a runner at different times/intervals for the last five years. This year, I feel I'm making much better progress, and I'm convinced it's due to running faster over much shorter distances.

You could consider switching one or two of your three runs with faster-run/walk intervals. I don't mean you should sprint or anything! Just try to pick up the pace. It means you won't be able to run very far/for very long, which can be a bit depressing (and is the reason why I didn't do it before - I felt better about being able to run x kilometers without stopping, but always running slowly means getting in shape slowly, too), but I'm seeing good results from it - it actually improves stamina over longer distances. With four weeks left until your race, I think it could improve your stamina, too.

Btw, if you haven't heard me/people say it before: barring injuries, you'll often run faster on race day compared to training. The atmosphere helps push you along :o)

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?
I may not understand 100% what you're asking, so possibly my answer is off: With an appropriate run/walk interval, you should be fine. I ran/walked 4K today in 4/1 run/walk intervals, but if your longest run so far is around 2.5K(?), try a 2.5/1 interval or even 2/1 interval to begin with.

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.

...your first 5k would be a victory, wouldn't it? I agree that your not wanting a slow time is a good motivator, but when you run your first 5k, don't forget to have fun.

Thank you, that was exactly what I was asking. Basically, I could push myself on one of the runs, whether by going faster or by going longer.

*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.

Heh, thanks for reminding me :)

Then, I think (and as far as I can tell, it's what all current research says) you'll get more out of increasing your speed.

I don't know if your mind is where mine is (/was, except it still goes against my intuition), but it may not seem logical that you can increase your stamina over longer distances by running faster over (much!!) short distances - when you push yourself to run an extra 5 mins or ½K, then you can see that you've improved, whereas when you train faster running over much short distances, you have to hope you improve, but can't tell until you try a longer run.

But it has worked for me - and even so, I'm still tempted to do too many of my training runs as distance/endurance runs, because I want to see just how it's improved me :o)

I'm not entirely sure I understand you, Skuf, but what I think you are saying is wrong. :-) See the post I made a week or so ago here about how to get faster. The best way for a low-volume runner (by which I mean, someone who runs very little per week) to get faster is to run more, even if that running is slow. Once you are running ~50K/week, then it is time to think about speedwork. On the other hand, it can be quite boring running all runs at the identical slow speed, so there is nothing wrong with running one's shortest runs a little faster.

It's possible it just seems to have worked for you because you haven't run any real distance yet, and I am sorry if that sounds dismissive. But you don't build aerobic endurance by running lots of short intervals hard.

I'm definitely not suggesting a beginner should run hard (which I tried to be clear about by saying "I don't mean you should sprint or anything!" above, but possibly not clear enough), merely to pick up the pace.

I'm getting in shape faster than I ever have before, but you're right that I have still to run longer distances!

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