Hi,

I have a quick question on goal setting. I'm a total beginner when it comes to running so for now I'll be sticking to getting my base mileage up but I am interested in knowing what is achievable.

I used to do a lot of cycling and setting goals helped considerably in keeping me motivated. In cycling a common beginner short distance goal is 30 minutes for a 10 mile time trial. Another tougher one is 25 miles in an hour. These are challenging enough to require some dedication but can be achieved by just about anybody while still keeping a life off the bike.

Are there running 5k or 10k equivalents?

Thanks,
Ivan

I'm fairly new to running but i just try and better my personal bests each time, it probably sounds obvious but thats how i do it. My pb for 5k is 26.10 and for 10k is 57.41. Ive only just started doing 10k so thats not a very good time but i'm quite pleased with it.

Stotty that is an exceelent time which 10K did you do?

Ivan how far are you running at the moment if you can run continously for over 30 mins I would say you are ready for your first 5K.

The beauty of running is that you can compete against yourself - setting new Personal Bests, trying to beat old ones.

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Getting ready for the GNR

I havent done a 10k race yet its just my training pb, ive only done it twice the first time i did it in 1hr 1min and 50secs so i was really pleased with todays effort. My partners saying that i'm not pushing myself by running the same circuit all the time what do you think?

Thanks for the replies.

Edwina I'm currently training in a gym and do between three and five 5k runs a week. These usually take me 30 minutes. This is a pace I could just about hold a conversation at so I could push harder. However I have only been running for 2 months and I'm very careful with my knees these days so I'm building up slowly and running on a 2% incline.

The gym suits my daily schedule better but I'm considering running outside and just using the gym for the changing room. I plan to try this out for one day a week at first to see how I get on. I also want to start increasing one of my runs to build up my weekly mileage.

A 5k is definitely on my list of goals but I would need some outdoor practice first.

Once youve run outdoors you'll get hooked i'm sure, they say its harder too but ive never used a gym for running so i dont know. Good luck with it though.

I hope you're right about getting hooked. One of the best things about cycling was getting out and seeing the world in a way you can't from a car. A treadmill doesn't come close.

Stotty, no harm in using the same circuit once a week as it gives you like for like comparison to measure improvement against. But it is worth mixing things up a bit in your other runs, as you'll meet different challenges once you start doing some actual races. Flat courses in good conditions can be great for getting new PBs, but tough hilly ones can be rewarding too, for the sense of accomplishment when completing a challenging event.

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Don

You don't give us a profile so, without knowing a bit about you - how old you are or what state of fitness you're at, whether you're the correct weight, etc., it's not easy to set goals for you. You say you 'used to do a lot of cycling' but how long ago is that? A lot of very good runners are/were also cyclists. The two sports seem to complement each other. ISTR that runners who have won the classic Three Peaks Fell race have also won the Three Peaks Cyclo-cross.
When I first took up jogging/running in my mid-fifties I went to our local Sports Centre and joined a jogging class to learn the ropes. We went out Tuesday and Thursday evenings in two groups (beginners and advanced) and ran between 5 and 10 miles. We learned all about stretching, before and after running, about what to wear, how to pace ourselves and how to improve our speed. All good practical stuff you can't learn on a forum.
At that stage I never set myself timed goals because I don't really think it's possible to do so until after your first race. Even when I was eventually cajoled into racing I wasn't really interested in the clock. My goal was to beat every other person in our class including the two instructors, one of whom was a 2.54 marathon man. My race was always against people, not the clock. Those who finished in front of me automatically became targets for the next race, more especially if they happened to be in the same age category. In my first ever 5K race yesterday my race was against the reigning British champion, not some inanimate time piece. Times look after themselves. The only timed goal I ever set myself was sub-3 hour for the marathon which I knew I had to do to claim the scalps of good O/60 runners from just about every country in the world.
To look at it another way, it's your competitors that set goal times for you. Your goal is always to be that fraction ahead of them. Until you've raced against them, and find out just where you fit in that big picture, you'll never know.
Cheers!

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Give me the hills!

Hi Runningfox. It sounds like you're a very determined runner . I really appreciate the advice although I think my personality is a bit different to yours, I definitely enjoy beating my own times no matter how anyone else does.

For my profile, I'm a 32 year old male. I'm not unfit but I have been in much better shape. Up until early last year I regularly cycled routes up to 100 miles, I cycled in a group and was one of the stronger cyclists but I didn't compete. I haven't done much since then due to work commitments and general laziness. I have no injuries. I can make time for the gym while at work which means most of my training sessions will be limited to around an hour max.

I also lift weights so I'm probably a bit heavier than the average runner my height. I'm 5' 11" and weigh just under 13 stone (about 82 Kg), 32" waist so it's mostly muscle not fat . I will be lifting less so I can fit time in for running which means I'm likely to lose some muscle but I won't be quitting the iron entirely as I enjoy it and it adds variety.

I have read more of this forum over the weekend and entering a race definitely seems to be the way many of you stay motivated. I think I'll have to give it a go to see what all the fuss is about.