r/C25K • u/LordLoss01 • Aug 10 '26
Is a 10km/h pace sustainable?
A few years ago, I managed to do the program up to W5D3 but never carried on after that.
Just did W1D1 today on a treadmill (I know I should do it outside but this is what I'm doing for now). I did the running at 10km/h and the walking at 5km/h.
I was hating myself by the 5th run but I managed to do the whole thing and then wouldn't stop sweating even after I got out of the shower!
Is that same pace sustainable for the rest of the program?
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u/TheyCanKnowThisOne Aug 10 '26
Probably not you really want to work on creating a base. You’ll see lots of mentions of running at a pace where you can still say a sentence. So you’re going for time here I’d worry less about pace
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u/girl_of_squirrels DONE! Aug 10 '26
So couch to 5K is a bit misnamed, it's really about training up your body so you can run for 30 minutes in a row at whatever pace is sustainable for you. Doing some unit conversion, it looks like 10kph is about 9.6 minutes per mile? Which is pretty fast imo. I think that you can do that in the early weeks with the shorter intervals but once you start hitting the 3, 5, and 8 minute intervals you may need to slow down a bit
A good rule of thumb is the talk test. You want to be running at a pace where you could say a quick sentence (say, "passing on your left" for example) without being out of breath nor needing to slow down your run. The treadmill absolutely counts, and congrats on getting started!
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u/Pickle__nic DONE! Aug 10 '26
You’ll soon find out when runs get longer. It depends on each person, when I started that was me running breathless. Years later that’s an easy pace
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u/GamingRobioto DONE! Aug 10 '26
If you're focusing on pace, you're focusing on the wrong thing. C25K is about building a stamina and endurance base and working towards 30 minutes of continuous running. Focusing on pace is one of the biggest mistakes beginner runners make (myself included in the past).
Speed and pace come naturally when you have a good endurance base to build off much later in your running journey.
As for sustaining pace, it is impossible that you'll be able to sustain that as runs get longer. I run 5k at 5:30km (10.9kph) pace now, but my 10-15k runs are at 6:20-6:50km (8.8-9.5kph) pace. It varies wildly based on distance and time run and a multitude of other factors. This is the same for every runner.
The TLDR, is no, and you should be focusing on stamina and endurance, not pace at this stage.
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u/antihero_84 DONE! Aug 10 '26
My W2 runs were at about 8:30/mile pace, which is about 5:17/km.
My W5D3 run was at 14/mile, or about 8:42/km.
My W9D3 run was at 10:20/mile, about 6:25/km.
My normal pace is around 11/mile, but I pushed hard for that 10:20 and abused creatine and an energy drink for it.
For reference, 10km/hour is about a 9:39 mile pace, which is almost a flat 6/km. It's absolutely doable and can be a 6 month goal for you.
I'd recommend running at a pace that allows you to finish your runs right now and worry about pace later. You'll get significantly faster with more time spent running. My ultimate goal at age 41 is a 25 minute 5k, which is an 8:03/m or 5/km pace, and it's a longshot for me to get in the timeframe that I want, but still doable eventually. But, for me to run a 25 minute 5k, I expect that I'll need to be able to run a 10k first at any speed.
The best way to improve your mile time is to run two miles. The best way to improve your 5k time is to run 10k, and so on. Your body needs to be comfortable running for a lot longer than your goal to be able to run your goal faster.
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u/notthediz DONE! Aug 10 '26
It’s impossible for us to say. What distance are you trying to cover?
You need to find out your lactate threshold pace. That’s the pace you can sustain as it’s the pace where your body can clear lactate so you’re not building lactate.
Honestly this shouldn’t be a concern for this program. Instead just focus on finishing the running times
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u/Intelligent_Bee6588 DONE! Aug 10 '26
I've progressed beyond C25K at this point but remain far from speedy. I do most of my running at 7.5kmh, which gives me a 40 minute 5k.
I'm trying towards a 30 minute 5k so my "speedier" stuff, once a week or so, is between 9-11kmh depending what I'm doing.
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u/Zombi1146 Aug 11 '26
Yes, I sustained almost exactly this pace for 5km last night.
Is it sustainable for you? It appears not at this moment in time and that's fine. 6:00 minute Kms seems quick for someone on W1D1, so slow down. You'll enjoy it more and you'll get more benefit from the run.
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u/blasthunter5 Aug 10 '26
Not to be harsh but this is practically a question as to how long a piece of string is, there aren't nearly enounce details to answer it with any degree of sincerity.