Beginner runner, 5 months in,am I progressing well or doing something wrong? Sharing my recent Strava data
Hey r/running!
I started running at the beginning of December 2025, so I’m about 5 months in. I run on urban asphalt . No races planned yet, but my goal is to run a decent 10K by end of summer.
Here are my most recent runs:
• Mar 28 — 5.45 km @ 5:35/km
• Mar 30 — 7.73 km @ 5:28/km (PR on the mile that day!)
• Apr 2 — 7.05 km @ 5:58/km (tried to keep it zone 2)
• Apr 9 — 4.74 km @ 6:09/km
• Apr 11 — 6.24 km @ 5:44/km
• Apr 17 — 5.90 km @ 5:55/km
• Apr 25 — 8.74 km @ 5:59/km
• May 4 — 6.73 km @ 6:28/km
• May 6 — 7.43 km @ 6:21/km
• May 8 — 7.01 km @ 6:15/km
• May 12 — 9.56 km @ 6:06/km (longest run so far!)
My pace varies quite a bit — anywhere from 5:28 to 6:28/km — depending on whether I’m pushing or trying to stay easy. Distances are growing steadily, which feels encouraging.
My questions for you:
1. Is this pace variability normal, or should I be more consistent?
2. Should I be doing ALL my runs at easy/zone 2 pace at this stage, or is it okay to mix in faster efforts?
3. Realistically, how long until I can run a solid 10K given these numbers?
4. Is there anything in this data that concerns you or that you’d do differently?
Thanks in advance