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Training after completing c25k (Read 47 times)

    Hello all!

     

    I am a very new runner who started c25k 2 months ago after never running before and who is about to finish the program next week. I started running in order to lose weight (have lost 8 pounds so far) but have been hit by the running bug. I still run pretty slowly (finish the 5k in 38m when I do it which is 3 days a week) but I really want to increase my endurance and continue losing weight.

     

    My question is, I'm thinking about doing a 10k training program after I finish the 5k one but also want to add interval training to the mix. Is that too much? I am really worried about overtraining since i'll be jumping from 3 days to 5 days a week of running and increasing my distance on my 3 training for a race running days, plus doing interval training which is pretty tough on the 2 other days.

     

    I don't want to get injured and then not be able to run or not put in my all everyday because I am tired from so much running but I also want to up my game and hope that after 2 months I've built a solid foundation. Thoughts?


    Latent Runner

      Hello all!

       

      My question is, I'm thinking about doing a 10k training program after I finish the 5k one but also want to add interval training to the mix. Is that too much? I am really worried about overtraining since i'll be jumping from 3 days to 5 days a week of running and increasing my distance on my 3 training for a race running days, plus doing interval training which is pretty tough on the 2 other days.

       

      I don't want to get injured and then not be able to run or not put in my all everyday because I am tired from so much running but I also want to up my game and hope that after 2 months I've built a solid foundation. Thoughts?

       

      First, congratulations on C25K and shooting for a 10K next!

       

      Next, the bad news... 

      I would say doing intervals is too much.  Period, stop, the end.  Why?  Because even moderate speed work for someone who isn't in very good shape is almost certain to cause an injury.  Muscular and cardio-vascular systems develop relatively fast, however, joints, ligaments, tendons and bones always lag behind; start running fast before the support structures of your body are ready, and you will get injured.

       

      Case in point, I started running again last spring after having been off again and on again for the previous four years, I've logged nearly 1,300 LSD (Long Slow Distance) miles since mid-April, and plan on nearly that many again before April 2014 rolls around, and I'm not sure I'll be ready for intervals and such even then.  The flip side here is that over the years I have restarted my running on numerous occasions and committed the sin of TFFFS (Too Far, too Fast, too Frequently, too Soon), and virtually every time I had to stop due to shin splints, knees, ankles, stress fractures..., you name it.

       

      Now the good news...

      You don't have to train fast to race fast.  Logging lots and lots of LSD miles will, in and of itself, dramatically lower your race pace.  I know opinions vary, but I would say that until you're knocking on the door behind the elite(ish) runners in your age group, there is zero need to start working faster paced training sessions into your overall routine.

       

      Once again, in my case, even though I'm still roughly 30 pounds heavier than I should be for my height, and even though I typically train in the mid-nine to ten minute pace range, when I race 5Ks I typically finish with an average pace in the low sevens, and given that I'm closer to 60 than 50, this means I typically finish in the top 15-20% in my age group.  In addition, I'm going to be running my first 10K since 1990 on Thanksgiving day, and I'm shooting for an average pace of 7:30; not too bad for someone who is old, overweight, and slow.

       

      In summary...

      Were it that I were your coach, I would recommend that you start piling on long slow miles.  Doing it this way is the fastest way to weight loss, improved times, and staying injury free.

      Fat old man PRs:

      • 1-mile (point to point, gravity assist): 5:50
      • 2-mile: 13:49
      • 5K (gravity assist last mile): 21:31
      • 5-Mile: 37:24
      • 10K (first 10K of my Half Marathon): 48:16
      • 10-Mile (first 10 miles of my Half Marathon): 1:17:40
      • Half Marathon: 1:42:13