Running After C25k

If your goal was to complete a Couch to 5k and you have just completed it, well done! You should have a great sense of achievement as well as feeling fitter and healthier.

So what next?

Well, now that you have reached your goal it’s time to set a new one! You don’t want to lose the life enhancing benefits you have worked hard to achieve.

Whether it’s to continue running 30 minutes 3 times a week, or run a 5k faster or increase your distance to 10k or even further, there is a Run NI group and a Run Leader waiting to help and encourage you. Running with a group will help you develop your running technique as well as progress your training.

If you don’t feel ready to join a group just yet, here are a few ways to keep you running after your C25k graduation until you decide you are:

• Start the C25K programme again and where you walked the recoveries this time you can jog them slowly and run the intervals (where you ran) a little faster. You can use this for 2 sessions per week and for the 3rd session either do a parkrun or run continuously for 30 minutes.

• Another option, if you like continuous running is to do 3 continuous runs a week eg. 30, 30, 30 minutes for 2 weeks then 33, 33, 33 minutes, then progress on to 36, 36, 36 minutes adding on 3% each week, you can do this with mileage as well, adding 25k per week, do this until you have reached how far or how long you want to run.  Remember to take rest days between run days and do not push yourself over your limit.

• Another way to improve your fitness, if you are short of time during the week is to do 2 shorter runs during the week eg 30 minutes x2, then a longer run on Saturday or Sunday increasing your time by 5 mins or  1k every other week. Always remember to leave a recovery/rest day between runs.

As you can see there are different options and strategies to help you continue your running journey, this is just the beginning and as you gain more experience this will help you decide what is next, and set your next goals!