Week 6 run 1 done - why was it so tough

[GettingFitter]

I walked our dog in the morning a gentle stroll through the North Downs. 5 miles in all. Such a beautiful day. Then I thought - "why not do run1 of week 6 it won't be as bad as run 3 week 5?"

Long story short - I found it really tough. I got through it but probably felt worse than I did on Friday. It was 3.3 miles in total so over 8 for the day. Surprisingly I don't feel too bad today although I'm also doing the 5:2 intermittent fasting and today is fasting ;-( Can't wait for week 6 run 2 tomorrow.

[Treemouse Graduate]

It just doesn't add up does it? After the euphoria of W5R3, you look at W6R1 and think "great, a doddle!" but it is inexplicably hard! Luckily I was warned about W6 by various people on this forum, so I took it easy. Well done for getting it done and good luck with the 5:2 diet. I have just done my W8R1 and my fast day is tomorrow

[GettingFitter Graduate in reply to Treemouse]

Thanks Treemouse I wondered about giving up on the fasting while doing this. Do you find it easier to exercise on fasting or non-fasting days? I haven't found much difference.

[Treemouse Graduate in reply to GettingFitter]

No, I haven't found much difference either. I tend to run Mon, Wed. and Fri and fast usually on Tues and Thurs. However this means that both my Wed and Fri runs come after a full day of fasting. I feel a bit lighter on my feet if anything on these days, but I can't say I notice that much of a difference. I found that W7 was better than W6, and today, my first run of W8, I carried on running for 36 minutes (should have been 28 mins) but I just felt that I could keep going today. Funny really, because at the start, I almost gave up and my pace was slow. Anyway, you are about to see the reward for all this hard work, and your fitness will improve noticably

[Hidden]

Yeah, it's a "surprise week" in week 6... the intervals look easy after your big run of W5R3 but they catch most people out! It's about consolidating all the running to date and most people find going back to intervals a bit of a tough thing to do...

The important bit though is that YOU DID IT! And now onto R2 and you now know to take it a slow and steady... your next run is the last one you'll walk in so enjoy it...

[Hidden]

Week 6 is incredibly tough and catches a lot of people out. The return to intervals after that 20 minute run is no soft option. You might be best to stick with slow and steady for your next run as well. Good luck and best wishes.