W5R3 was not happening.

[Kurama]

I am a newbie to the forum and from the title you can already guess i was on week five and struggled with run number three. Leading up to this run, my head was not really in the game as i had a few things disrupt my runs. I could happily manage runs 1 and 2 but when it came to 3 i found that i would get either to the 10 min area or close to 15. So i got stuck on W5 and repeated it twice as i did not want to skip past it and move on till i had beat it.

How ever, i got bored and in danger of stalling on the program. I moved on to W6R1 on Monday and for what ever reason last night, i decided to re try W5R3 last night instead of resting. Knowing full well that that i have finished every run so far and that i had to do was either speed up or slow down accordingly, i ventured out and finally beat it. I will admit the last 2 mins felt like i was crawling but i didn't stop and finished. I think the people in the houses near by were wondering what the hell was going on when i had finished, as i was less than quiet about it.

I think that the runs are defiantly becoming more about mind of matter and i have proved that i have the stamina to keep pushing a little further. I have to keep reminding myself that "today's pain is tomorrows strength"

So onward with W6R2 tonight and see how that goes.

Til Vahall.

[Zev1963 Graduate]

Yes, Laura says it's more of a mind thing. It's also a pacing yourself thing. Keep a steady pace, don't start off too fast, you need to leave enough gas in the tank to reach the end.

[Irishprincess Graduate]

Oh really well done Kurama! You've shown real determination in repeating this run until you got there! It is hard but as you have realised, mental stamina is the thing to focus on now. The programme is designed to get your body through the runs. It's up to you to tell your head to keep up!

You must be really chuffed. Keep going, take it slowly and relish in the last few weeks. You're over the worst!

And welcome to the forum!

[Vixchile Graduate]

That shows great determination and you have cracked it. Just don't forget your rest days, these are very important to let your body recover and so you don't injure yourself. Good luck with the rest of week six.

[MarlyParly Graduate]

So thrilled to hear that you conquered that run, and good for you celebrating in the street, I've done a little bit of that during and post C25k! Echo Vixchile though, make sure you have your rest days even if it means going more slowly through the programme with setbacks and repeats, as the biggest setback/disappointment would be if you go injured and had to stop for ages! But super well done, think you owe yourself a little celebration after that. And welcome to this lovely forum, I have found it super helpful and supportive and hope you will to. Good luck with Week 6, now you have the mental focus in place I'm sure you will smash it! x

[Kurama Graduate]

Thanks all for your comments.

It was just the strangest thing last night, i just felt the need to do it and knew that i felt right to do it. A friend of mine did explain that you can level off during running and find it hard to reach or finish a set distance. And the only way to do it is to push a little harder as the body demands more exercise. All i did was to carry out some of the other runs to confuse the body and then attack the 20 mins as soon as possible.

As i said, i should be doing run number 2 tonight, but i have notice that i have a pull across the bridge of my right foot. Failing that i may just go for a mile and a half tonight as more of a stretch and do the run tomorrow night. The weather is gopping here in East Anglia so may pay in my favor to leave it alone for the night.

[Hidden]

Well done for your persistence and you have your reward, knowing you CAN do it.

[pinkangel16 Graduate]

Well done for persevering, you should be pleased with yourself.

Take it steady mind, have rest days, and you should be fine.

Good luck with the rest.

xx

[Airhare75 Graduate]

Well done! I hope you did a jig after that. Thanks for posting to- it's so helpful to see others' progress and different ways of tackling things - if you could explain more about the 'levelling off' that you spoke of that would be great as I am sure I need all the tricks up my sleeve to get through wk6!

[Kurama Graduate in reply to Airhare75]

Leveling off or plateau. It's the same with most things like weight lifting, weight loss and running.

The body gets to a point were you level off and nothing seems to happen. With running it may be a distance or a time, the body my struggle to either maintain those. I found that I hit this point in week five with the 20 min run.

When you hit these points you have to work through them and push a little harder to break the wall. I just took me a few extra days to get a few more runs in but moving at a slighter faster pace or changing the run times and recovery periods to confuse the body and not let it get used to time and distance.

I have had to do the same with weights as well so I knew that I had to increase my training and just keep running. So in short, if you find you hit the wall you just need to go a further a little each time and you will eventually break that wall.

The mind set should just be to complete the runs and set that as your goal. It may be uncomfortable at times but that will pass and you get stronger.

There probably is a bit of science behind it but I like to keep things nice and simple (much like myself).

Just stick to what you are doing and keep doing it. When you need a mental kick in the rear then I am sure all in this forum will be happy to assist.