I can't believe that the run stint more than doubles! How have people found this? Obviously it's do-able with all those graduates out there but that must be a shock to the system?
I have faith in the programme, it has served me well thus far (W4R2) but I think I'm just expressing my surprise!
You'll surprise yourself. Most people find week 5 run 3 the hump in the programme but you just take it steady and you'll get through it. Good Luck
Yeah I've just gone through a few wk5 posts and all very positive! I look forward to next Monday when I attempt it 
DON'T READ AHEAD !! It gave me sleepless nights !! By the time you get to W5R3 you will be ready for it as long as you have completed all the other runs leading up to it. I know it sounds improbable but you really will be able to do it if you take it slow and steady and listen to Laura. Honestly have confidence in yourself and faith in the programme. We will be looking forward to hearing you have done it next week !!
Don't do it! Read ahead, that is. Trust Laura, take it slow, and take it one run at a time. You WILL be able to when the time comes. I know -I've been there. We all have. Happy running! OK let's be strictly honest here - happy "oh boy I did it, I really did it" after-running feeling to you....
I've just finished W4R2 as well and have made the same mistake, i.e. read ahead. It sounds very daunting, I agree.... However, I totally trust everyone who says we'll make it though
Yeah, I done this today. It's all mental, seriously.
I have just finished week 4. I found tonight difficult but not sure if it's be use I am tired. Still getting aching calves. Might have an extra days rest before I start week 5. I too am not sure if I can do a full twenty minutes running!!! Why is a twenty minute run in there and then the following few runs are easier?? Back to five and eight minute runs??? Seems weird. Not sure if I will be able to do a twenty minute run yet at all 
ps can't believe I claimed an 8 minute run as easier!!??
If at the end of w5d2 you don't feel that you want to attempt w5d3, then just keep repeating the w5 d1&2 runs until you do feel ready. You will either succeed then -- or not!!, If not, then keep on trying until you do succeed!!
"Keep on trying until you succeed"
Luke: All right, I'll give it a try.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.
W5R3, as daunting as it looks, and as much terror as it induces, is surprisingly doable. W6 is far from 'easier' however. I think W6 R1 is the one that catches most people out. It certainly did me. But all of it works just fine if you follow the programme. By the time you get there you will be ready for it. And if you're not, then just repeat the previous session until you are.
I sidestepped it for a while -- I simply kept on with week 6 and slotted it into W6D3 ( which was a 25 minute run) . I did the 20 minutes in W6D3 and then went on to complete week 7 , etc.
The object for me was to firstly get to the stage where I could run non-stop for 30 minutes, then get to the stage where I could quite easily run non-stop for 30 minutes , then to the stage where I could run nonstop for 5Ks ( which took me about 42 mins) and now where I am at running 5ks in 33 minutes
Do whatever feels right for you -- but whatever that is, keep doing it!!!
CookieMonster, what are you like, eh?
I have absolutely no doubt that you'll be back here in a week, reporting W5r3 complete. You can do this, but the challenge is now a mental one, not a physical one. We all had the same doubts as you... just did not look quite so far into the future
So pleased you've come this far.
W5R3 is completely doable - just try not to think too much about the time aspect of it as it's more of a mental hurdle than a physical one. If it's any consolation, when I started the programme I thought that you could choose one of the W5 runs and just repeat it 3 times - it was beyond me why anyone would choose to run 20 minutes when they could just stick to some nice 8 minute runs instead!
Have to admit I juggled the runs about as I didn't think I could manage the leap up to a straight 20m run. I think I went from run 2 week 5, onto the 10m runs in week 6 and then came back to week 5 run 3 later as part of a slower buildup. It worked for me, but I know the majority on the programme manage to achieve the jump to 20m. Best of luck whatever you end up doing.
It might sound daunting but if you've done everything Laura has asked up to that point, it is completely doable - believe us!
And boy will you feel the business after that!
Good luck and let us know how it goes
Many beginners find week 5 to be a tough mental challenge but the reality is that it's surprisingly straightforward so long as you've completed the previous weeks. Week 6 is something else-a simple reminder that while you've come a long way, you're not a runner just yet. Onward and upward, you lucky people!
Fear not cookie monster. I remember reading ahead. Because everyone said not to. So i did. Haha
but it is completely doable. This programme is so well designed. It is a push. But the first run in week 1 was a push too. I loved it. It was my fave run. Running without a break fir the first time was the best feeling. Such satisfaction.
I did this run yesterday and it was completely fine. It is more mind over matter as your body is fit enough to do it but your head thinks not x
Once past the 'great 20 minute epiphany', the whole thing, and pretty much everything beyond it, is all in the head.....
I remember reading ahead and feeling daunted. I couldn't believe I could do it, and then I couldn't believe when I had actually done it. The 20 minute run is where it gets really good. The programme is really well designed, not just to cope with your developing levels of fitness and endurance but psychologically too. If you run 20 minutes non stop after only doing 16 in total previously (2 x 8mins?) then you feel awesome. These little rewards are brilliant motivation.
Anyway, it's doable, and you'll do it. Keep it slow if you need to. Let us know!
Week 5 Run 3 is a mental hill, more than a physical one. Don't agonise over it, relax, take it easy and give it a go. If you don't manage it first time, then try again. No problem in that.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! DON'T REEEEAD AHEEAAAAADDD!!!!!!!!!
You'll be fine. You'll kick ass. We all did!
Week 5 is completely doable! You'd be surprised.
Week 6 looks easier on paper because you're back on the shorter runs but there is an important lesson in it.
I and many others with me fell into the trap of letting week 5 make us too eager and forget to pace ourselves.
Telling you not to look ahead won't work- it didn't for any of us but at least we can help you to learn the easier way!
I did w5r1 and it was fine. Then I gave blood. I ran w5r2 2 days after donating and I swear I almost passed out. First time I haven't finished a run segment and I felt like a complete failure. I retreated today to the safety of w4 runs and found them to be the absolute limit of my endurance and even then at a slower pace than I had completed them first time round.
I cant even contemplate w5r3 at this rate! I agree with you OP, it seems like such a leap of endurance. However, I am listening to my body, and am trying not to allow myself to be beaten or downcast. You see, next week, I will retry w5 and I will whoop it's a...
I don't think it was reading ahead that scared me, honest, I think it was the blood donation.
Week 5 Run 2 - Officially over half way! Tips for 20min run 3? New to the forum
Week 5, run 2. What’s the best way to approach run 3? 
Week 5 Run 3 - 20 minute straight run!
Week 5 Run 2 🏃♀️👍☀️
