Newbie 5k speed strategy

MrsYurtle

Hi all, I'm relatively new to running. 5 months ago I weighed 340lbs and couldn't walk 50m due to severe back pain. Today I weigh 244lbs and did my first 5k park run!

I 'ran' the whole distance without stopping as I always do when running alone, however I am painfully slow. 41 min today which is a lot faster than I expected.

I noticed there were a lot of runners running faster than me, but then walking for a bit. Is run faster/walk a better strategy than slow and steady the whole 5k?

I'm not currently doing speed training although I'm going to start intervel training this week.

JustRunLYSS

Hello Mrs Yurtle - well done for getting into the sport - it's a life-changer for sure.

About the speed though, Please do not concern yourself with time as it's only one measure of the run. We loathe to draw reference to it, BUT most especially if you're a larger lady - your body has to strengthen itself to carry the 200kg a great deal before you can look at speed.

Get used to the action of fast forward motion first, and let your body get accustomed to efficient energy production. You'll know exactly when you can start pushing.

You'll not be painfully slow forever. That's a promise. We all started in the same place.

MrsYurtle

Thanks for the reply. I've been going at a steady slow speed for a few months now I'm certainly ready to push it a bit. I may be large but I'm a strong lady!

This morning I tried running at a speed I'd like to run at, I can only hold it for 100-200m before having to walk for a few seconds, then repeat. I want to keep trying this and gradually increase distance at the faster pace.

I'm still wondering about those who run/walk the 5k, is it better than slow steady plodding?

Nose Nowt

You may well be strong, MrsYurtle, but you're not invincible and your bones need to develop and adapt to the repetitive stresses you're putting on them.  When you run, the impact puts the equivalent force of several times your body weight on those legs and hips (I can't remember the exact number). The faster you run, the greater the multiplier.

Your bones actually change shape once you become a runner - to make them more efficient at resisting the impact... and, as I understand it, they do this my dissolving small amounts of bone and redepositing that material where it's needed more.
All this is a slow process and (as a non-medical professional) I understand that your bones actually become marginally thinner/weaker before material is redeposited.  Whether or not that's quite right, it is for sure that stress fractures are a danger a few months after people start running - because they're feeling fitter, can run faster and further... but they tend to be unaware of microdamage building up in the bones.
I'm not trying to frighten you off, honest!  It's amazing what you've done.  Doing that little bit of speed  work is a good idea now that you're several months in, but do watch out for shin splint type pain, or other aches and pains.  And always have a 'down' week every month, where you run very little to give your body the chance to rest and adapt.  You can swim or cycle in that week, but cut back on the impact.  It's good for your bones, and tendons and muscles to do that.
Great work. Well done.

solitaryrunner

I have a similar question as I've done the NHS C25k as far as Week 7 - I can't manage 30 mins in one go though so I split it into three 10-min runs. But what next? I want to continue improving, specifically to lose weight. I'm scared of going backwards and losing fitness/ability, as I've done in the past. I am not very sporty and have mild asthma so 'going backwards to zero fitness' can happen really easily for me. I want to do more but ideally not to add distance/time because I already have to fit my runs around family life. Could running faster help me? Interval training? (My lack of lung capacity means I'm thinking 1min fast, 1min slow + repeat might be the best I could do to start with, I might even need to factor in 1 min walking.)

Like Mrs Yurtle, I couldn't do the 5k park run without some walking, but is that more efficient than running v slowly and will you still lose weight?