Woops, went a bit OTT!!

[Yummy-mummy2207]

So, anyone that saw my post last night will know that i had a disasterous 1st outdoor run and didn't come anywhere near to completing run 3 of wk 7. So tonight out i trotted to my treadmill determined to sort out my pace in my head that ive always run at an complete the run i was supposed to do last night.

Well i worked it out and then before i knew it our dear Laura was telling me i had 1 min to go. I wasn't ready to stop... So i plodded on. I maintained my 7.1k and managed to run just over 5K in 45 mins. I have no ide where it came from how i did it or anything but this girl right here had just run the furthest and for the longest ever in her life!! Buzzing is not the word, i don't know what is, lol!

Question is what do i do now? Do i carry on with week 8 run 1 or skip them and class this as a one off? Will work on going backwards a few weeks when i get outside but for now on my treadmill uncertain what to do... X

[Rignold]

You completed W7R3. W8R1 is the next one, yes. There is nothing to stop you running 45 min 5ks throughout week 8 and 9 as well if you want to and are up to it, but it would probably be better to stick to the programme, especially if you had a difficult one last time. There aren't really any short cuts in running, as far as I have found so far.

[runningnearbeirut Graduate]

Firstly, well done for getting back out there and giving it another go.

I agree. W8R1 is next.

The aim of the programme, as has been said many times before is to get to running 5km OR for 30 minutes. For some the two coincide, but for most they don't, but it doesn't matter because everyone is different.

The programme works because it builds up your strength and stamina gradually while the rest days work their mysterious magic in the background (repairing the micro tears that happen in our muscles as part of the building up process). The key is in the "gradually" because that way you are much less likely to get injured. Most of us think of injuries as things like spraining your ankle when you go over on it when you land awkwardly or fall over, but the truth of the matter is that sports injuries are usually caused by overdoing things rather than being the result of one step when an ankle gets twisted or a hamstring gets pulled.

So anyway, my very strong advice is to stick to the programme. It'll get you running for 30 minutes. If, after you graduate, you find that you need to keep running for longer to get to 5km, then you can work your way towards that goal (or whatever distance you set yourself) by increasing your running time/distance by a maximum of 10% per week.

Enjoy the rest of the programme - not long to go now

[LordOberon Graduate]

Excellent run and time. Carry on with the programme - you know that you want to finish it in style! Good luck.

[paul2014 Graduate]

Well done and a great distance covered. As we said in your other post, it was just a case of getting used to the difference between running on a treadmill and running outside. As you've discovered, it's not necessarily a case of being any harder running outside, it's just different

if I was you, I would still complete the c25k. You're so close

[bikergirl Graduate]

Wow well done that's awesome. Agree with the others keep at the programme. Then you get the satisfaction of having completed it start to finish. If you feel like running a bit extra at the end of each run go for it tho. Well done ypu

[Nilzed]

Well done and carry on. At some point, when you are ready to go outside again, you already know it will be different. But it will be easier now you know that you will need to go slower until you learn to pace yourself without the support of the treadmill. You may want to start over at week 1, or maybe week 4 or 5, depending on your indoor stamina at the time.