Week 4 completed !!

[richardvc]

Well I was up for work at 3.30am this morning and had to really force myself out for today's run once I got returned home.

I got changed but felt so tired before going out. I kept putting it off and then just bit the bullet and went !

I struggled and the first five minute run was totally uphill and seemed like an eternity. I cannot remember ever having to breathe so deep BUT my recovery was pretty quick and I got through it all.....Just !!!

Had a sneak peek at week 5 and it looks like a nightmare but just like today, desire rather than skill or talent will get me through.

I am really out of my comfort zone now and every run seems like a trial - any tips ? Should I repeat week 4 or just go for it ??!!

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Richard

[poppypug Graduate]

Well done Richard ! Move on to Week 5 . It will test you , but the programme is designed so that each run and each week lays the foundations for the following week . It is perfectly do-able , just keep doing what you've been doing up to now and you will be fine . I promise xxx

[KD126712]

Hey Richard! I agree with poppypug. If you're feeling like an injury might come on, then definitely consider slowing down and repeating a week. Otherwise, slow your speed way down and continue onward. It sounds like you're dealing with normal exhaustion as your body gets used to the exercise, but the program is very well designed. (P.S. I just finished Week 5 D1 today and had the same worries, super happy I moved on!)

[MarlyParly Graduate]

I would give week 5 a go, you've got this far & sound like you have got good grit & determination behind you, don't underestimate the power of that. Also, take your speed down a notch & try to avoid hills, right now it 'a about just keeping going to build stamina so try & take the gentler route where you can. You can always go back & consolidate & repeat weeks if you feel it too much, but I have a feeling you can do it. & you will surprise yourself...

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

I completed week 5 last week and was worried about it like u (and everyone)!!! Just thought about day 1, then day 2 rather than being overwhelmed all week with the 20 minute run. Keep relaxed, slow pace, breathe well and tell yourself you can do it. If u get achy calves, it will just come and go on the longer run, if you stop and walk, you will have to do that run again but if u battle through, it is done!! It is just 30 minutes of ur day!!

Julie

[mcgurranhouse Graduate]

Go for it! The program is designed to make you push yourself that little bit further every week - you can do it! You will be fine - you have come so far already that it would be a shame not to go forward

[richardvc Graduate]

Thank you all for your replies.

The good news is that I have no injury worries - not stiff and no aches and pains - I just seem to get really tired.

The bad news is that where I live I cannot avoid hills but I am going to have a drive around the neighbourhood tonight having a look. I maybe lucky that I can concoct a route where the gradients aren't so punishing.

When running on flat I have energy to burn and love it but the steep inclines make it a real torture !!

I will have a go at week 5 and if it's a problem just repeat week 4 - no dramas here. Maybe a small step back will power my step forward !

I think the point about slowing down my pace is a fair one and that is something that I need to do with regard to running for a longer period of time. Does it really make that much difference ?

Finally, two questions :

1. Breathing, I don't really understand what I am supposed to do. Laura told me about it but I wasn't sure what she meant.

2. Running in the rain - what should I wear ?

Finally, thank you for your help so far. It really does make a difference and I appreciate that you take the time to help me.

Richard

[gary_bart]

Probably the most important thing to do is to search your runs for something that feels like play instead of work, each time, (although play is really hard work half the time) until you find at least a part of your run that you want to do just because you want to do it. If you don't manage that, one day you're going to find a way of giving yourself permission to "take the day off from school", and its a slippery slope back down the hill from there. It looks like at this point running on the flats might be it for you.

As for hills, half of it is simply to remember you're not in a car with a ridiculous excess of power over and above what's strictly necessary. They're slow. Accept the fact that you must just go slower, and settle into it. As far as the increase in work the hill represents, I find that sometimes it helps to try to mentally compare the hill I'm on to a staircase. It takes the same amount of energy to move yourself up so much hill as it does to move yourself up so many storeys. What you're feeling most is not the total energy burning away, but the rate at which it's consumed, so keeping your mind busy with comparing how fast you're burning fuel to go up some stairs compared to your hill is not only distracting, but reassuring. Most of the time you're going to find that your hill at least compares favourably to some familiar flight of stairs. But above all, Hills are Slow. You can only speed them up by making cuttings or tunnels through them. Just accept that, and realise you're just getting a better appreciation of the change in effort needed to climb a hill than the car gives you, and you can even eventually get round to using them as handy bits of resistance to build up the power of your legs on.

Yes, and if you're right out of your comfort zone, and you're not loving that run you hate, then you need to be a bit less ambitious for speed, and just slow down a tiny bit. A small drop in speed gives you an exponential drop in energy, remember.

So should you move on to Week 5? You're not injured, so yes, but slow it down. If the slower pace feels really horrible and clumsy and awkward, you might have to reverse a bit just to build your speed up to the point where you balance nicely, but if you've found yourself a nicely balanced slower speed you can switch to (and you need one of those eventually) just use that, and press on.

[davelinks Graduate]

Hi Richard,

Try and put those gremlins out of your head And move on, we've all been there! Your healthy & painfree? Go for it! tell those thoughts to bugger off!..

[pampaddy Graduate]

Oh I can so relate to this! Just got back from w4r3 and its the first time I didn't enjoy it. I didn't want to go and had to force myself to do it. I did manage to complete it but can't decide whether to move to w5 ( possibly setting myself up to fail) or repeat week 4.

[longstaff]

Good grief a 3.30am start. Puts my 5.30 start in to place. I am 57 and about 20 kg overweight, plus a full on job teaching, so I am only on week 2, after about 7 sessions of week 1. Don't want to thrash the bod after years of inactivity and also figure that it's about a change of thinking as regards exercise and health, building new habits etc as much as achieving goals. I don't think constant pushing is a good idea. Take your time and enjoy the making of a new you, you will get to week 9 regardless.