Week 8 arrghh mental challenge: Completed Run... - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

132,333 members158,513 posts

Week 8 arrghh mental challenge

16 Replies

Completed Run 2 today, wow it's a hard first 10 minutes! Ran the other way around my loop  which meant the welcome downward slopes became the incredibly hard hills (they're not really... just gentle inclines) but they seemed tough. 14 minutes in and I was slugging my way up the second one, sun came out just to spite me and I thought about giving up going over the bridge. Then I thought, what's the worst that can happen? You could collapse but there's plenty of cars passing on the next side to take you to hospital! I get some strange thoughts to keep myself from stopping lol. Safe in that knowledge I continued on for the next few minutes puffing and sounding like ..well I don't know what as I tried to gasp for breath. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen on the entire planet to get me through. Laura was strangely silent and I was willing her to tell me I'd run for 20 minutes when I had a surprise to hear her say there was only 5 minutes left. That really gave me a boost and I managed to finish the run with quite an easy pace as my breathing settled. In hindsight if she had told me I had to run for 30 minutes I think I could have done it. My time is still 8 minutes 20 ish seconds per km but that's 20 seconds less than a week ago. Bring it on Run 3 :)

16 Replies
misswobble profile image
misswobbleGraduate

Well done!  Just keep plugging away and you'll get there.  Go slower if you're finding it hard going and are puffing and panting a lot. 

You've not got far to go now. Week 6 was the hardest and you got through that.  You can do it!

in reply to misswobble

Thank you :))

agedsnailspace profile image
agedsnailspaceGraduate

Don't worry about the speed.  How fast you are/km doesn't need to bother you until you have graduated (and even then I wouldn't worry about it too much!).  If you need to, slow down to make sure you complete the time.  You're doing great!

in reply to agedsnailspace

Thank you :))

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduate

Do not underestimate those gentle inclines.. they are sneaky!!!

Well done you! Well on the way! 

Try maybe not to focus on speed too much at this point. You have time after Graduation, to focus on that and distance, if you choose. Just travel this part of the journey in a slow and steady way.. you are still challenging yourself :)

PS

Made me giggle about the reference to hospital aid... i think loads of us have those thoughts... :)

in reply to Oldfloss

Thanks :)) yep it was just some crazy inspiration I think telling me not to be a wimp lol!

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduate in reply to

:) No-one is a wimp who is out there and running! :)

Sivaram007 profile image
Sivaram007Graduate

We both are at the same point :) I finished my week 8 run 2 today. Not too far from graduation... Let's do it :)

in reply to Sivaram007

Congrats :)) Aiming to get my grad run done on 5th May. Let me know how you get on!  We'll cheer each other :D

Sivaram007 profile image
Sivaram007Graduate in reply to

6th May it is :) aiming to get the 5k in 30 minutes. Let's see how that goes

justkeepgoing profile image
justkeepgoingGraduate in reply to Sivaram007

Me too.  I did W8R1 yesterday.  Went through the same mental sticky bit that OP did but also didn't give up :-)

in reply to justkeepgoing

We'll just grit our teeth and get there! :))

Bluebirdrunner profile image
BluebirdrunnerGraduate

Great stuff Xyreina..☺ you have probably read on this forum that the first 10 mins of ANY run is when your body is getting the signal that you need to take more oxygen into your whole bloodstream to cope with the exertion. This is the tough bit of a run, so be kind to yourself and take it very steady. Once you are oxygenated your breathing should settle and the rest of the run feel more comfortable..

Once you realise that you can push through that tricky bit and accept you are not going to ' conk out'... you may even find the running 'zone'..😊

Keep going...graduation week soon.

Keep smiling.x

Thank you. Glad to know it's normal that first 10 mins! That really helps :)

runswithdogs profile image
runswithdogsGraduate

Whole new perspective when you reverse your route :)

in reply to runswithdogs

Definitely!

You may also like...

New mental challenges overcome!

First consolidation run today and I found it really hard to get motivated. My motivation before came

Mentally challenged

wanted to run to improve both my physical and mental health however with every failed run attempt i...

Wk9r3 done - I’ve graduated! But today was a mental challenge

myself around from about the ten minute point telling myself there was no way I wasn’t graduating...

Graduates Club week 1 challenge

the second walk half way through the run. The walk was good but soon over and into the second run...

Week 8 - Done and Dusted 🏃‍♀️✅

furthest run running just over 4K in the 28 minutes 💃🥳💜. Clearly I’m not in the ballpark of...