I've been doing the Couch to 5K program for a while now, and I'm currently at the last week of it. I can run for 30 minutes now, but at a much, much slower pace than the average novice runner at my age and sex (as I've seen when I looked it up, at least).
So what now? The program says that I should be able to run 5k now, but I can't run it in 30 minutes, not even 40 at this pace. How do I increase my speed?
Thank you so much for the responses in advance.
EDIT: I feel like I might've been misunderstood. I can now run for 30 minutes straight, but way less than 5K in that time. The issue is that if I were to run 5K, I would be able to run it a lot slower than 40, let alone 30 minutes, at my current pace.
Am I correct in assuming you weren't very active before completing the C25K program?
If so, you probably just need to work on building up your cardio base. It's fine to go slow. Just keep at it consistently and as your cardio fitness improves, it should get easier to go at a faster pace.
You can also redo the C25K program with jogging during the recovery portion and sprinting during the running portion aka interval training.