Running between Couch to 5k days

cjdun1

so I'm one week away from the final week of couch to 5k - at the moment I only 'run' every second night 3 times a week(I'm using the term 'run' in the loosest possible form ), but just wondering, what should I do on the other nights once I've completed the program (the other 2 nights in the week I mean here - I'm taking a break on Friday nights and Saturday nights), that can maintain the c25k work, but not strain myself too much (I find my ankles banjaxed on the interval night), should I go for a long walk, or could I drop back to an earlier week in the plan (I also do core work in powerplates).......would be grateful for guidance from those in the know

Many thanks

pointer28

Hi,

I just finished the C25K before Christmas and I kept going with my own plan after that. Now I'm up to 11k.

I increased by 10% every week for three weeks then reduced by 30 - 50% every fourth week, then week 5 went back to week 3 numbers and started increasing again. For example:

Week 1 - 15k
Week 2 - 16.5k
Week 3 - 18k
Week 4 - 12k
Week 5 - 18k
Week 6 - 20k
Week 7 - 22k
Week 8 - 16k
etc.
etc.

I also mix up my sessions now rather than doing three identical sessions as I found them a bit tedious when they get longer. I now do one longer run at a very easy pace, one medium length session at a steady pace and one interval session. It's also lovely to go running in a different setting now and again, I like woodlands and parks for a nice change.

As for the in between days, I try to get out on my bike a couple of times a week as it's great to keep your fitness levels up without overworking the same muscle groups you use running.

Anyway, I'm far from an expert but I do know what worked for me. Best of luck with it and maybe you should think of entering something down the line to keep you motivated for the training. I'm doing a 10k race on 9th April and a 100k cycle on the 15th.

hardCopy

There is another program called Bridge to 10K B210K designed for grads of the C25K plan. Have you picked a target race for 5K?

cjdun1

to be honest, I'd no plans to do any races or anything, I just took this up to get fit myself.........:rolleyes:

cjdun1

to be honest, I'd no plans to do any races or anything, I just took this up to get fit myself.........:rolleyes:

thanks for the direction on what to do next..........10k might be a bit ambitious though!

hardCopy

cjdun1 wrote: »

to be honest, I'd no plans to do any races or anything, I just took this up to get fit myself.........:rolleyes:

thanks for the direction on what to do next..........10k might be a bit ambitious though!

You'll probably find a lot of the marathoners on here started at C25K. You can never be too ambitious, but there's no rush either. Why not work on getting faster over 5K?

Hal Higdon has a few 5K training plans I haven't tried them but his Marathon plans are always very popular and he knows his stuff.

There's also a dedicated C25K thread here on boards where others have probably asked similar questions before.