Seems like eons ago now, but I (like you) had fairly slavishly followed the plan ie 3 runs of the required duration/difficulty before moving on to the next week of the schedule. I also found that I was energised around week 7 and did my first 30+ minute runs. I sought the opinion of fellow joggers and bloggers and the consensus was clear: in order to graduate as a proper and completely bone fide C25K runner, one definitely had to complete all 27 runs....even if one managed a fluke 'extended' run or reached 5k before outing 27!
I suppose part of the rationale of the course and reason behind its success is that the total number of completed runs has been carefully calculated to properly train your body and mind for the target 5k in around 30 minutes.
Awww go on, you've only a very few runs left to finish, so continue to the official end - then you can hold your head high and proud and truly say you've graduated!
Thanks for the reply. I'm sticking to the plan - wild horses and all that - it was more whether extending the run when you feel ok was generally a good idea.
Part of the fun of this brilliant plan is the anticipation of the next run so I guess I will just see what happens.
I only ran weeks 1& 2 twice but after that I stick to the timings and the 3 runs for the rest of the programme. I did this because it was serving me really well and I didn't want to push myself too far. I would advise that you stick to the programme and you will be a graduate soon!
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