another running question! 5K to 8K?

December 1, 2016 11:38 AM

I did C25K and quite triumphantly ran my first race in 34 minutes! I know, not breaking any speed records. Anyway, my friend and I are thinking about signing up for a five miler in early January, so that gives me about four weeks to train. Can I do this? What do you recommend?

Note: any running plan with the word "fartlek" involved makes me laugh, and then my eyes glaze over.

posted by cakelite to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Best answer: Run 3-4 times a week from now until then adding a half mile each week. The last couple runs before the event run an easy 4 miles. Source: went from couch to half marathon in about 8 months with zero injuries (and a slow time, in fairness)
posted by raccoon409 at 11:42 AM on December 1, 2016

Best answer: Bridge to 10k is six weeks long, so you can just hop on that. You'll be fine.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:42 AM on December 1, 2016 [5 favorites]

Best answer: adding 2 miles in a month is definitely manageable. As raccoon409 suggests, slowly increase your regular runs, and on your long run, add one mile at week 1 and another mile at 3.

(assuming your goal is to finish vs run some blazingly fast time :)
posted by k5.user at 11:44 AM on December 1, 2016

Best answer: I ran my first 5k in late September last year and then ran a 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving that same year. It's totally doable. I just made sure I ran my usual 30 minute runs 3 times a week and then one long run (4-5 miles) on the weekend.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:49 AM on December 1, 2016

Best answer: I always think that if you can run 5K, you can run twice that, just by adjusting your pace. Don't wear yourself out during the 5K (approach it as a leisurely jog) and then use your reserves for the last few kilometers. You should be good.
posted by xingcat at 12:22 PM on December 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

Oh god, please do not do the Bridge to 10K program mentioned above. It adds volume far too quickly and is likely to result in an overuse injury. Plus it reintroduces walk breaks and except for one week, all the workouts are the same.

You're better off sticking to two 5K runs a week and adding 1-1.5K per week to one run. That will get you over 8K a week before the race.
posted by brianogilvie at 6:34 AM on December 2, 2016

I did exactly this a couple of years ago when I started running - you can totally step up to 5 miles in a month without much stress. I wouldn't even follow a plan in this timeframe and agree with the others who have suggested tacking on a long run to your regular training to get you used to the feel.

A good general rule of thumb to avoid injury that I heard early on is that in any given training goal (like for a specific race) you should either be focused on increasing speed or increasing mileage, but not both.
posted by superfluousm at 9:32 AM on December 2, 2016