I hate running. but I'm doing it. Can anyone offer their opinion on which of the following methods is better for improving? My goal is to do 5k under 30 min with no walking. Currently I can do a 5k but it is over 30 min and I have to walk to catch my breath occasionally.
Option 1 - run at a steady but comfortable pace for as long as I can, or 30 min (whichever comes first) even if the distance isn't 5k. With the idea that I'll improve and see better distances but always doing 30 min.
Option 2 - always do 5k, even if it takes me longer than 30 minutes and some of it is running faster than option 1 and some walking to catch my breath when needed. with the idea that I'll see better time but always doing the same distance.
Maybe rotate? I don't know. again I hate running.
You'll get a lot of different opinions on this, likely rotating works the best, but I'd encourage an alternative- practice changing your mindset and let the activity follow. You may say "I hate running" but instead focus on the goal- whether it's playing with the grandkids without getting winded to dropping a belt loop to dragging a deer out of the woods to whatever... Running is a tool or means to that end rather than something to hate.
To answer your question somewhat more directly, for me, I'm a distance goal person rather than a time goal person. I believe that the amount of miles has more direct correlation to long-term fitness than the time, so my workouts are always structured around a distance goal, and sometimes I may go faster or slower to get there. If it's a time goal, that works too, but the key is the intensity of the workout needs to stay consistent, doing 2.5 miles in a half hour one day is not the same workout as doing 1 mile in a half hour on a different day, so mileage has always been a more consistent benchmark for me (or at least it was a decade ago when I was consistent, as well as the last few weeks where I'm back at it). Getting into the weeds a bit here but as a too-technical aside, I've been looking into getting a heart rate monitor and judging workouts by relative effort and intensity, but that's a different level of training and not necessary for our purposes here.
I would also suggest making weekly goals and varying the activity so you don't get burned out on doing the same thing over and over. Like 2 miles Monday, 3 Tuesday, off Wednesday, bike for a hour Thursday etc. There's also a lot of good "couch to 5k" training plans (that mix it up but also gain mileage incrementally so you don't get injured) out there for free that you could follow, either from the beginning or jumping in a few weeks in since your current fitness level is greater than "couch".
Also, there's a whole world of opinions out there- jeff galloway teaches the run/walk combo for runners of all ability levels so don't disparage yourself for taking a walk break. Better to run 3 miles with a walk break or two than to run a mile and a half and quit altogether (though that, in turn is better than sitting at home eating chips!). At the end of the day just keep at it, running is an incremental game, you won't see improvements one day to the next, or sometimes even week to week, but stick with it and a few months from now you will for sure.
Hope that helps, and please keep us posted, I'd love to hear about your progress as you work towards your 30 min 5k goal.