I DID IT FOLKS!!!

I did week 5 run 3 today. 20 Mins NO STOPPING!!! I NEVER thought I would be able to run that long!!! I did my usual route that i usually do intervals, but just jogged. I'm not sure about my speed tho.. I didn't want to go to fast in-case i bombed! I didn't want to get discouraged. I just wanted to complete it! I ran approx. 4K in 20 mins. Is that REALLY slow? Any advice, suggestions, tips? I am on such a high right now! I felt like I could have probably walked faster then I was running tho! Is that normal? Now I totally feel like I can complete this!! I was having a total panic attack during my 5 min warm up!!! I was sooooo scarred and thought there was NO way I was going to be able to! YAAAAYYYYY!!! LOVE this program!!!

[runningnearbeirut Graduate]

First of all, well done!

"4k in 20 mins. Is that REALLY slow?"

NO!! That's actually very quick and doesn't sound like jogging to me! At that pace you'll do 6km in 30 minutes and there's more than one graduate posting here who doesn't get to 4km in 30 minutes.

If you want to know your distance more accurately, then use a tracking app like mapmyrun or endomondo - or measure it out on Google Earth - or you could always measure it out on a real map!

Don't worry about speed at the moment, that will come. The more important thing is building up your strength and stamina to be able to keep running.

[amireallydoingthis Graduate]

Just used mapmyrun for the first time to see how far I ran in my 20min run last night and it was only 2.8km (not including warm up and cool down walks) so you've done really well papyapa. I think I need to speed up a bit

[Hidden in reply to amireallydoingthis]

You know what, we are doing it!! I was thinking about it last night, and the fact of the matter is we ran for 20 mins straight!!!! That is crazy!! I'm not going to worry about anything else and try to just be proud if myself. You should too!! We did it!!

[dottiemay Graduate]

Sounds great to me - well done!

Speed really isn't important at this stage, although we all seem to worry about it. Just concentrate on doing the runs as per the programme and the speed will come, believe me. If you try to go too fast before your body is ready, you'll almost certainly cause yourself an injury.

Just take it nice and easy and enjoy it!

[Hidden in reply to dottiemay]

I agree!!

[hop_along Graduate]

Well done!

[Eebahgum Graduate]

Brilliant! I'm encouraged by posts like this.

[Kittychops]

Fantastic! I do that run tomorrow. I had no idea is was a 20 min run. Gulp. I'll try to stick with it.

[Ladylovesmilktray Graduate]

Gulp as well, I'll be doing it Saturday or Sunday, just can't imagine running non-stop for 20 (twenty!) minutes. I felt like punching the air today when I managed 8 x 2. Let me know how you got on!

[dottiemay Graduate]

If you can do 8 x 2 which is 16 minutes, you're only adding an extra 4, which is half as much as one interval!

Or in much simpler terms.... of course you can do it, you've almost done it already!

[Hidden]

You will be amazed how hard it is not!!! Just remember to take it slow. Enjoy the scenery! I kept my focus in my rythem and speed. Not the time. When I heard 1 min. Left!! I felt amazing! I was in a high all day that I did it!! You CAN do it!! Keep us posted!!