When to increase my jogging/running

G-Money

I've got quite into jogging since taking up the Couch to 5K programme. At the start I was struggling to jog for 90 seconds but I am on Week 6 of it now (it runs for 9 weeks in total) and I am now able to jog for 20 minutes without stopping. Pretty amazing to me considering how hard I found the 90 second, 3 minute and 5 minute jogs originally. However I found if I keep my pace slow at the start it makes it much easier.

I'm due to finish week 6 tomorrow and then move onto Week 7 next week so I only have a few weeks left on it until it's finished. And I have noticed that I actually want to increase my training and do more.

I've been holding myself back quite a bit as I don't want to get injured. I've had a couple of knee injuries over the past 2 years or so, but thankfully none were very serious and 3 weeks was the maximum amount of time I was on the shelf.

But I'm finding myself wanting to do more than just the 3 days per week that I'm currently doing.

When would it be safe for me to increase the amount of jogging I'm doing? I'm currently around the 16 stone mark but I want to get down to 12 stone max. Have a stone and a half gone approx so far.

BeepBeep67

Rule of thumb is to only increase your total mileage and the lenght of your longest run by no more than 10% per week and every 4th week take a step back and kick on again.
Example:
Wk1: 20 miles
Wk2: 22 miles
Wk3: 24 miles
Wk4: 16 - 20 miles
Wk5: 24 miles and so on, patience is the key and it doesn't take long to start racking up the miles.

RayCun

Simplest thing is to move on to a different training programme when you finish couch25k. A beginner's 10k programme, or the Higdon spring training programme. Running 4 days a week shouldn't be a problem, so long as you take it easy - don't jump into a 4th day at the same intensity as the 3 days you have now.

Krusty_Clown

Great progress so far Grandmaster. Finish out your current program, give yourself a week of rest (one or two easy runs only) , and then sign up for a 10k race and an 8-10 week 10k program that will increase the mileage and the load. This one has three-four days of running per week, and a couple of days of cross training, and takes up pretty much where the c25k drops off. you could substitute a cross training day for an easy recovery run.

You are doing it absolutely the right way, and making steady progress. Don't increase the mileage/training load to quickly, or you may find that you start to move backwards (injury, tiredness).

Mike D

No real advice...just well done and keep it up!It's how I started a few years ago... and got addicted:)

ecoli

Great progress so far and great discipline ( which i think even the most experienced of us runners still struggle with from time to time)

Krusty touched on cross trainng and i think it is something which can be added. Given your weight target i think is something that should be approached to avoid unnecessary complications in your training as getting this down can allow your body to handle more mileage in the future without as much strain being put on your joints.

So if you looking to maybe have your three days running add a day of cycling and in two three weeks add another. Cycling is great for the weight loss without putting extra pressure on the knees. Once you have dropped some of the weight then you can focus on more mileage/ intensity depending on what your long term goals

Keep up the good work

G-Money

I should say that while I'm on the Couch to 5K programme, according to my Garmin watch, I've not really done anywhere close to 5K so far on it. Perhaps I'm jogging too slow but a long distance runner friend of mine said to not worry about speed and it's more important to just spend the time on your feet and the speed will come itself later.

As for cross training, I guess it would be good however I don't own a bicycle and I'm very, very out of practice on one too. I haven't really cycled since I was in my early teens and I'm now 33 and the last time I attempted it, it wasn't great. Also I live in South County Dublin and there's not much in the way of places to cycle without the hassle of worrying about being hit by a car or something.

Swimming I've considered but I'm not really interested in taking lessons in my current shape so that's not an option either for the time being. I'm also not planning on joining a gym again anytime soon either.

I'm being an awkward fecker aren't I

As for being dedicated, I wouldn't go that far. While I'm on Week 6 of the programme, it's taken me longer than 6 weeks to get this far. I've been lazy at times and not went out for a jog, or I've been away on holiday and haven't really exercised or whatever. I find though that personally it's just better to stick at it and not let the gap between workouts be longer than a couple of days as it's easy to fall out of the routine.

RayCun

grandmaster wrote: »

I should say that while I'm on the Couch to 5K programme, according to my Garmin watch, I've not really done anywhere close to 5K so far on it. Perhaps I'm jogging too slow but a long distance runner friend of mine said to not worry about speed and it's more important to just spend the time on your feet and the speed will come itself later

Your friend is completely right, don't worry about it. Just follow the plan and you'll get the distance covered, and the speed will follow later.
I don't think I ran 5k until week 8 of the programme, something like that?, and my first 5k race I finished in about 28 minutes

marchino

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Rule of thumb is to only increase your total mileage and the lenght of your longest run by no more than 10% per week and every 4th week take a step back and kick on again.
Example:
Wk1: 20 miles
Wk2: 22 miles
Wk3: 24 miles
Wk4: 16 - 20 miles
Wk5: 24 miles and so on, patience is the key and it doesn't take long to start racking up the miles.

from 'runningtimes' april 2010.

''The conventional wisdom of 'increase weekly mileage by no more than 10%' means well, but ignores two important facts about the human body. First, your body isnt based on the base number- 10 system. Second, it adapts best to a new level of stress by being exposed to that stress and consolidating the gains produced by that exposure before adjusting to more.
Set aside the fact that the 10 percent ''rule'' would take someone coming back from injury six weeks to get from 15 to 25 miles per week.
The bigger problem with it is arbitrary reliance on a number system that has nothing to do with physiology. What do your muscles and blood vessels know about ''10 percent''? or miles for that matter. (And pitty the poor babylonian runners of yore, with their base- 60 number system!)''


well done op. if your body is looking to do more, then thats a great sign. your starting off perfectly do and the above article may be suited more to runners who are running a while. Dont be concerned about speed yet, consistensy is the key at this stage and you appear to be winning that battle. Maybe you should take a 'before and after' photo of yourself and see how differnt you look in a few months. (i think there was a good thread on this a while ago) if you keep going the way you are you'll be amazed looking back on how much you've lost. i remember looking at some of the pictures of the boardies <i wasnt a member then, was just being noisy!> and it was amazing how much fitter and healthier they looked. keep up the good work.

Arthurdaly

As for cross training, I guess it would be good however I don't own a bicycle and I'm very, very out of practice on one too. I haven't really cycled since I was in my early teens and I'm now 33 and the last time I attempted it, it wasn't great. Also I live in South County Dublin and there's not much in the way of places to cycle without the hassle of worrying about being hit by a car or something.


South Dublin is probably the best area in Ireland to be situated if you are cycling. The wicklow mountains are on your doorstep! If you are looking to shift weight with the least amount of effort I would recommend cycling.

hot to trot

Great to see you making so much progress Grandmaster. Am so pleased and proud for you.:D

If you up the number of runs in the week. Drop the distance of some of them or add a bit more to one of the ones at the weekend, as an alternative to stretchin yourself a bit . YOur patience will stand to you as a good solid base like this will make progress almost trouble free and you wont have to revisit these introductory miles ever again . Its only a few weeks since you were running 5 mins continuously. 20 already is super indeed. I hope you are still enjoying it and starting to venture away from your little comfort loop into new areas to explore.