So having done W5 r3 and done 20 minutes straight (yay me!) I can't understand why the next run is a step down to 18 minutes split into 3 intervals. Why is this? It's tempting to just skip w6 r1&2 and go to run 3 (25 minutes straight).
P.s. love how positive everyone is on this forum, keep up the good work ☺
LOL.
Underestimate not W6R1.
You may find, as many others have before you, that it is a wee bit more challenging than you imagine. Try doing a search on W6R1 on here and see what other people's reactions have been. For me it was one of the toughest of the whole programme.
Don't miss any runs out. week 6 is no push over. Fun though
Oh, and don't skip any of the runs.
I only did w6r1 on monday, I think its to
A keep you running a reasonable amount of time between w5r3 and w6r3
B people have only just started running and to add 5 minutes to each consecutive run would have you snuggled up on the couch in lots of pain very quickly
Don't know why but just go with it. It works! It feels like an anticlimax but soon enough you'll be upping the ante each week so panic not.
I've also just done W6 R1 this evening. I agree it's nowhere near as exciting as W5R3, and seemed harder. Maybe it's because the 20 minutes is a landmark - the first big run, whereas now it's back to building up stamina (and keeping moving). Well done for getting through it; I found the last 5 minutes pretty tough going.
I'll echo the same point....I did w6r1 yesterday and i found it harder than w5r3.
When I completed W5R3 I posted on here how fab it was and how great I felt and some guy commented that W6R1 should not be taken lightly and that it was a hard slog.
I remember thinking 'Gee thanks!! You managed to kill my running high!'
But my God was he right and I have warned everyone about it since.
Running is as much in your head as it is in your body and going out thinking any run is going to be easy is the route to failure, and this first run after your 20 minutes is there I think just to teach you that, so take it as a lesson, your mind will adjust to realising that this journey will never be easy.
Once you grasp that and accept it lacing up your running shoes and getting out the door gets easier, the runs never do 😃
I watch Mo Farrah and realise even he doesn't find it easy, he just gets something out of it, enjoys it and loves the challenge once you get that you'll be a runner xx
I will stick to the plan, it just feels wrong not increasing the running after 6 weeks of doing just that. Thanks guys, been puzzling over this for days
personally i think its more to do with recovery times. bear in mind you start week 5 running for 5mins at a time and end week 6 doing 25mins. week 5 (start) and week 6 (end) have the largest jump of the whole programme.
Week 5 and 6 are transition weeks with each run preparing you in a slightly different way for the continuous running of week 7 onwards. Don't skip them, they help build stamina and work with your body's ability to recover.
The only advice I can give is, stick to the program. It's got you this far.
On the write-up on the app it says that you should be finding the walking intervals are getting in the way of the running now - so perhaps this is to illustrate this point to you?
I wondered this when I looked at the NHS app. I'm using a different app and as soon as you do your first 20 minute non-stop run you then just continue with another 20 minute one, then 25 mins, 28 mins and then 30 mins. Actually, the last one on my app when you 'graduate' is a 35 min run.
Apart from that the preceding weeks have been almost identical to the NHS runs but I for one am glad that the stop start is over and I can just run!
I wondered about that too but I went with it, anyway, and it worked! I did wk 6 run 3 this morning and it was really smooth. You know it's more than you've done before but it wasn't back-breaking. Good luck!
I did this one this morning and boy did I struggle! The last 5 mins were painful !! I was glad of the opportunity to walk today whereas I have been finding the walks getting in the way. Guess I have to trust the programme and keep going.....
Enjoy week 6 it is the last one with any walking. 
Feel like I'm going backwards!
W6 going back a step?
W6 R1
W6 r1
