Just completed Week 5, run 2, does it get any better?

[AmberC]

Although I managed to complete each section I can't say I'm enjoying it 100%. Now and again I feel brief enjoyment but then it is quickly replaced by the feeling that I just have to keep going. At the moment If I was a dog I would compare myself to an Old English Sheepdog, whereas I want to be a Springer Spaniel! Does it get better and when?

[JHarveyL Graduate]

Hi AmberC - I can so relate to that. I felt exactly the same for most of the programme - the best bit was always the feeling of satisfaction at the end that I had actually achieved it. However, something kept me getting out there.

I suspect that the answer to your question will be different for everyone on this forum, but here's what happened for me not long after the point you're at. I think I got to a point where I had finally found a pace where my breathing felt right and not too laboured and my legs were OK - previously I'd been running too fats and/or my stamina hadn't built up, and I found I could start to look around me more and think about more than just the next few steps or breaths - just the things I enjoy about walking and why I'd always thought I hated running. So the running is, most of the time, happening more in the background unless I'm really pushing on to get my speed up or something like that when I pay more attention to Laura and what I'm doing. I still can't say I'm 100% enjoyng the running, but I am enjoying the achievement and just getting out there two or three times a week.

[stevo216 Graduate]

I am on wk 9 now and to be honest I can't saty it is getting easier because the runs get harder each week BUT the enjoyment comes in the feeling of satisfaction at achieving goals, feeling fitter and anticipating the next run. Keep at it, it is so worth it.

[Hidden]

I know exactly what you mean ! Up until now (w8 r2) I have 'got through' each session not really enjoying it it but I DO enjoy the feeling and knowledge of achievement and improvement. I also enjoy knowing that I am getting fitter. I don't think I will ever be a Springer Spaniel but I will enjoy knowing I can run 5K (with my teeth gritted...)

[Rockette]

Yes all the above replys are spot on . And also , running isn't easy , and as soon as I got this into my head the more I enjoyed it. It doesn't get any easier but you do eventually treat it as a pleasure & not a punishment lol . Just stick at it , don't push yourself too hard & remember each step it's not meant to be a walk in the park & enjoy .

[AmberC Graduate]

Thanks guys, it's good to hear I'm not alone in my feelings. I agree that the feeling of achievement and completing each stage is a great buzz, so for the time being I guess I will just find satisfaction in this.......and of course in the knowledge that my fitness has greatly improved. When I think back to week 1 run 1 when I felt sick after the session and now I can run for a continuous 8 minutes and recover quickly.....I really have come a long way. A big thank you to the NHS for creating these podcasts.

[Hidden]

I am starting to enjoy my running a bit more now that I am close to graduation - after graduation you can organise your own programme although I will be attempting the follow on podcasts. I changed my mindset after W5R2. How that came about....I'd been having tests for suspected lung cancer. The C25K programme and the forum here helped me keep going whilst I was awaiting the results of the tests. On the day I did my W5R2 I got a call from my GP late in the day - I was told I did not have cancer. I cried with relief. Within about half an hour I started thinking about all the people across Britain who would be getting test results the same day - and be crying for a different reason. In a moment of madness I signed up for the Race for Life in June. When I did my W5R3 I had a much more philosophical approach to it - and from that moment on I was an athlete in training for my first race. I have gone from strength to strength ever since. So, if you want to it be a bit easier, change your mindset - you have that power within yourself. Best wishes.

[AmberC Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Wow, thanks for those inspiring words, I shall bear them in mind when I do my next run on Sunday.

[Becca66 Graduate]

Amber, I am at just the same stage as you: I did Week 5 Run 2 this morning. The part I found the worst was about 2-3 minutes into the first 8-minute slog. I wasn't too pleased when Laura told me I'd done 4 minutes, either: only 4? Felt like about 60.

I'm dreading the 20 min run. To make it worse, I do all my runs with a cross-bred pointer who bounds around like a loon and is never out of breath - so I appreciate the springer spaniel analogy.

[AmberC Graduate in reply to Becca66]

Good luck for your next run, I'm doing mine on Sunday. I try not to think about the next run too much, I don't want to worry about it too much! Although I do find myself looking forward to getting out there. I run with a Cocker Spaniel and I wish I had half her energy and stamina!! I have also just started the 'Strength and Flex' programme, I'm hoping it will help build muscle strength.

[Run_rabbit_run in reply to AmberC]

Good luck for Sunday's run. I just did my Week 5 Run 3 and I found it helped by thinking to myself that if you can run 16 minutes (albeit with 3 mins in between) from Week 5 Run 2, you can do an extra 2 minutes...And then another 2 minutes. By the last 2 minutes, I start to imagine either my family or visualise myself after I have finished the run. Totally deserves a fist punch in the air! Good luck!

[AmberC Graduate in reply to Becca66]

Good luck for your next week 5, run 3, I did it this morning....see latest reply from me.....AmberC. Go for it, you can do it.....I'm even beginning to sound like Laura......help!

[misswobble Graduate]

I'm loving running as it's keeping me fit and I'm SLIMMER. The running, if you stick to it, slims your hips down and your butt will fall off. What's not to like!

I only started back in October, never having run at all, and aged 56 had few expectations, but I've surprised myself. You can too!

[AmberC Graduate in reply to misswobble]

It's fantastic how this programme appeals to such diverse age groups and each are finding success. I'm 50, and have always said I hate running, and although I can't say I'm 100% enjoying it! At least I can say I'm definitely getting fitter (so I can have that extra square of chocolate), I'm sticking with the programme, and that together with everyone's supportive comments and postings is giving me a sense of achievement and a reality check....a big thank you guys.

[misswobble Graduate]

Good for you Amber. Keep on running and I think you might just start to enjoy it. When you see that you don't die at the finish line, and live to run another day, it sort of gives you a boost of confidence that you're not such a couch potato after all and that there was a runner in you after all. We all get runs that don't go well, sometimes more often than not, but we just bounce back as we're quite a driven sort of bunch. Not bad for ex couch potatoes ey.

[AmberC Graduate]

UPDATE from AmberC.....wow, wow, just completed week 5, run 3: I did it, I can't believe it. I was so dreading this run, I even left the dog at home (Cocker Spaniel) thinking that I needed to use all my powers of concentration to get through today's session! I feel such a great sense of achievement, the first 5 minutes were the hardest, just trying to get into a rhythm and take my mind off thinking about any aches or twinges....after that it felt better and I kept plodding away at a steady rate. I was overtaken by 3 other joggers, but who cares. So for others who are about to embark on this run: Laura as usual was right, we have prepared ourselves so just trust in her words, the plan and most of all yourself. Good luck.

[Becca66 Graduate in reply to AmberC]

Well done! I'm expecting the first 5 mins to be rough as well. On the plus side, I'm unlikely feel diminished by speeding Lycra Lovelies sprinting by - I'll just be shown up as a sluggard by, as usual, the dog!

Anyway, well done again. I will take your advice and listen to Laura.

[Theziggy Graduate]

When I first took to moving quicker than walking I HATED it, my mind and body rebelled all the time. Then one day (sadly longer than a month or six) I was in the shower after my exhaustations and thought "that was good". You could have knocked me down with a feather, Don't get me wrong, it didn't change overnight to a thing that I was champing at the bit every day to do, but it wasn't HATEFUL any more - well - not as HATEFUL. Takes a while to change the R in RUN to an F !! If it was enjoyable everybody and their Uncle would be doing it!

[Becca66 Graduate in reply to Theziggy]

If you hated it, you did really well to stick with it: hats off to you, because I know I wouldn't have that determination. As it is, I don't much enjoy the process, but I feel deeply smug at the end of every session, and that keeps me going.

[Bazza1234 Graduate]

I read somewhere regarding running - never look ahead while running, always look backwards to where you have come from. (speaking metaphorically that is - not literally ! ) And although I am thinking that my "running ability" has fallen back just a little bit since finishing the programme, when I do look back to where I originally came from (4 months ago -running for 15 seconds at a time), I can't really even see WAAAAY back to there, I have come too far already. (my Runkeeper programme tells me that I have "run" 250 klms since I started - no wonder I can't see back to where I started )