W6R2 - why was this soooo much harder than Week 5? :(

[Joanne37]

Not sure if this was because I didnt sleep so well or because I've overdone it (from the 21 and 32 min runs this week) but this morning was torture. I had proved I could do 20 minutes in one go but this morning was super tough and the first 10 minutes this morning was awful. I couldnt find a pace or a stride that felt comfortable and didnt enjoy it at all. Whinge whinge moan moan! My shins and calves screamed at me and a few times I wanted to give up. I havent given up a run yet and I really really didnt want to so I kept going but it was hard. So much harder than recent runs. The 3 minute walk was really welcomed and I managed to pick up and do the last bit. I found the last section slightly better and went past the last 10 minutes as I could see my house in the distance so the end bit was 18 minutes. My legs are really tired now and achy and I feel slightly deflated that this was so much harder to do. I really hope I can do the 25 mins for the end of Week 6 but that wont be until Friday now. Maybe I just need to rest and maybe I've overdone it. Did anyone else find Week 6 this hard? Doing 5k (which on my stats from Runkeeper is going to be about 50 minutes - wow I'm that slow!!) which is only in 5 weeks or so feels like a mountain to climb. Onwards and upwards. Happy (soggy) Tuesday.

[amsjo Graduate]

Hi Joanne,

Think alot of us found week 6 really hard, and I am not sure why as on paper it looks easier ... but trust Laura as it works.

As for reaching 5k by week 9 some do, I didn't but for me just running for 30 minutes was incredible. So keep up the good work, rest for your next run .. and go enjoy the rain!

[rollonsummerrunning Graduate]

I did! I rested for a week as I was incredibly tired, and decided to repeat it. Wk6 r1 wasn't too bad last night so hoping it did the trick. Don't be too hard on yourself, so far you are doing amazing, think how far you've come to be able to run 20 mins! Good luck, you can do it, hey you ARE doing it

[mrshiccup]

I am finding w6 easier than week 5...so far! Not sure how r3 will go! I did have a three day break between r1 and r2 which may have helped though. Perhaps your extra day off will help for Friday...good luck!

[greenlegs Graduate]

Seems very likely that your legs are just reminding you that maybe you did overdo it a bit! I did the same just over a week ago - I did extra running (and cycling) for the grand finale of the 5x50 challenge, and then haven't felt at all like running since. I did get out and run today, but it was still really hard work. I'm surprised I still seem to be feeling the effects this much later on.

So - extra day off sounds a very good idea, and watch that you don't start trying to run faster because you're thinking about how far you want to run in week 9. It really doesn't matter how far you run in 30 minutes, if you can keep going. On the other hand, if you try and speed up, you may well put yourself off so much that it all starts to seem impossible. Better to run slowly than not run at all - and it's good to have another target for after graduation. Keep up the good work!

[Joanne37 Graduate in reply to greenlegs]

Thank you. That does make sense. I think I am really slow but I'm still moving. Lots of rest for the next couple of days and then I''ll try for Run 3. 25 mins! Eek.

[julieg21]

Hi Joanne, just wanted to let you know that some of us are slow and some of them do manage to complete 5K in 30 mins. But it doesn't matter about speed at this stage. Once we can run for 30 mins with a little more ease that's when we can start working on our speed. That's my philosophy anyway. The main thing to think about is however many weeks ago it was when you first started this programme, we didn't care about our speed our aim was just to run for a few minutes without stopping! Now look at what your worried about! Just enjoy where you've got to and how far you've come. Congratulations on getting this far. Enjoy!