what's a good 5k time?

[Anonymous]

I'm 45 years old F and just started running seriously about 3-4 months ago. Not really any sort of athlete. My time is 34 minutes - how much faster do you think I can aim for? I run only 2x/week to avoid injury, but I do strength and cardio on the other days.

[Anonymous]

It is all relative. I think you should try to run a bit more each week and you will drop the time considerably. Running does not mean injury if you keep up the strength work and stretching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is all relative. I think you should try to run a bit more each week and you will drop the time considerably. Running does not mean injury if you keep up the strength work and stretching.

To add, but build up slowly. Add a two or three miles every week at most.

[Anonymous]

Any time that means you finished. My first 5k was so slow that they almost took down the markers but I finished and improved on it the next time. We can't all be DK Metcalf. Some of us just aren't that fast and that's ok too.

[Anonymous]

Working on speed intervals will help if you want to increase your running pace (or dropping weight).

I run 5-6x a week and have had muscle pulls etc very rarely. I feel like I actually got injured more when I was only running a few times a week. The key is just building slowly. The more you run the more efficient your body gets.

[Anonymous]

A good time is one a little faster than the last 5k.

Aim to break 30 minutes, but give yourself some leeway on how long it takes you to get

[Anonymous]

If you want to get an idea of the wide range of times check out parkrun.
They have free weekly timed runs (when there isn't a pandemic going around). Hopefully they will start soon, but you can check out the results page, which lists people by age:
https://www.parkrun.us/rooseveltislanddc/results/latestresults/

[Anonymous]

I’ve been running for years and have never broken 30 min, though I’ve come close. It’s ok- I run for exercise and endurance (can run up to 5 mi) and do strength training otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any time that means you finished. My first 5k was so slow that they almost took down the markers but I finished and improved on it the next time. We can't all be DK Metcalf. Some of us just aren't that fast and that's ok too.

This 1000%

Just keep doing you. If you are pushing yourself hard enough that you are getting the cardio benefit out of it, who cares what your time is?

[Anonymous]

Look up results from road races - you can search by age/gender to get a comparison group. It was helpful for me to not use age as an excuse from improving my time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any time that means you finished. My first 5k was so slow that they almost took down the markers but I finished and improved on it the next time. We can't all be DK Metcalf. Some of us just aren't that fast and that's ok too.

This 1000%

Just keep doing you. If you are pushing yourself hard enough that you are getting the cardio benefit out of it, who cares what your time is?

Another +1,000. I always say that I run slower than a three-legged turtle in a vat of molasses. I've done countless 5 and 10Ks, a few half marathons and a handful of marathons. Not fast, but completed and that's more than most people can say. Do your best, and take care of your body.

[Anonymous]

45 yo who’s only been running for a few months? Don’t worry about your 5K time, really.

[Anonymous]

Been running for 25 years. Who cares what your time is - JUST FINISH!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is all relative. I think you should try to run a bit more each week and you will drop the time considerably. Running does not mean injury if you keep up the strength work and stretching.

To add, but build up slowly. Add a two or three miles every week at most.

To add also, are you running outside? That makes a difference too bc you have the weather, rolling neighborhood hills, pollen, other people to swerve, etc to factor in.

I also notice a difference in the time of day - 1st thing in the AM when I'm fresh vs. mid-afternoon running .

[Anonymous]

What's your goal? As an adult I was always around a 10-minute miler. I could have gone faster I guess if I'd done speed work but I didn't want to. My goal was fitness, not faster.