W5R2 Phew!!

[oldfogeyrunner]

Did the eight minutes session yesterday.That was harder that I thought! Having run 5 minutes on the first run I thought this would not be too bad, but I have to say that it took a lot of will power to complete. For the first time my legs are still feeling it the day after. Makes me wonder how I am going to do twenty minutes! I might have to repeat this run a couple of times before I am ready to tackle the twenty. I would be grateful if you could share your experiences of this leap to twenty minutes.

Many thanks

[PamJK Graduate]

Well done on completing the 8 minute run. My advice for R3 is just to keep the faith . The plan really does work and you will be ready for it. Honest!

I tried to distract myself as I did r3 (as I'm still doing!) so I concentate on the scenary rather than on my legs and my lungs.

Good luck!

[Daisy333 Graduate]

Well done on the 8 minute runs! You sound just like me. I did week 5 run 2 yesterday and found it hard going but as I completed it I'm going to give the 20 minute run a go and I think you should too Good luck!

[LMS2110 Graduate]

Well done Oldfogey, you have done it...that's the main thing! It IS a big step up and when you think about it, five into eight is a greater than 50% increase in effort/stamina required, and your legs will quite likely complain the first time you ask them to perform!! Rather than deciding to repeat, it might be more appropriate to rest those legs an extra day and see how they feel after a longer time to recover and strengthen.

Lots of people struggle with this week; I hated it! I took advice from this forum and went as slowly and gently as possible ... everything eventually fell into place. It will for you too - you may even find (as I did) that you settle happily into the longer runs without the interruption if walking

Cheers, Linda

[CouchCarrot Graduate]

Agree with LMS2110. The key is pacing - you should consciously avoid trying to run fast. Make it a gentle jog - you can do it! Now consider this. You did two 8 min runs with a 5 min walk in between today, right. Your next run is very similar, except you are replacing the 5 min walk with a 4 min run! Well, I read this logic in one of the blogs when I was looking for inspiration before the dreaded W5R3..

[oldfogeyrunner Graduate]

Thanks for all your encouraging comments. They have spurred me on to go for the 20 minute run. I'll let you know how I get on.