Just finished Wk4 R2 but I rate it my worst run since Wk1 R1. Every step was a psychological battle and My mind was telling me I couldn't do it I should give up the whole C25k I will never finish I am not a runner etc etc etc for the whole time. I seemed so much more tired and it was a colossal effort this morning.
Please tell me it won't be like this every time from now on?!!!
Of course it won't! its very humid out there and the gremlins were trying to get you .... But you made it, feel proud, you CAN do this, everyone here understands. you're doing brilliantly, keep on going! 
Well done for finishing your run. And no it won't be like that every time. Every now and again you get a bad run for no reason. Sometimes there is a reason - hydrated? rested? good/bad weather? mind not really in the right place? wrong colour socks/Tshirt/shorts/undies?😀
Each bad run that you finish makes you stronger and shows the mental, as well as physical, aspect of running.
The feeling of good runs, or even just going for a run, far outweighs the bad days. Keep at it, you won't regret it.
It was a battle - but you won it! Don't give up, your next run could be a great one. Just focus on one run at a time and look back on the progress you've already made. You can do this - and getting yourself fitter really is worth doing!
It won't be, the gremlins struck big time by the sounds of it, and it happens now and again. Being a new runner, (and you are a runner) it can be very daunting when it happens and the gremlins bring all that self doubt with them. Even after you've completed the C25K you can have a bad run, we are human, we aren't machines. Look at today as a right of passage, you got your first bad run over with, but it's history now. Hold your head up with pride, you're on a challenge, and you're doing great because you're trying something new and it's hard. Don't give up, as you've discovered today running is both physical and mental attitude, keep going 😊
Hi Hidden I've just finished week 4 yesterday and haven't found it great either. I'm struggling to see myself finishing too but for a different reason. I'm finding it a physical struggle rather than psychologically. My hip is not liking this at all.
After a few comments on here from much more experienced people I think I'm going to try a few more rest days between runs. I've managed to do alternate days throughout so far but now it's getting more physical it looks like I'm going to have to adjust a wee bit.
I hope that you can get through this struggle you're experiencing just now. I think this is the gremlins that other people talk about that you're going through. Try to stay positive and I'm sure people who actually know what they're talking about will be on to give you proper advice shortly.
Good luck and try to keep going
Thanks Lochie, hope your hip issue is not too serious so you can make the progress you want to soonest
The gremlins are out...ignore them... You will find some runs tricky and some not that is how it is...
But... you can do this, take it slow and take it steady...main point is, you did it! If I tell you, that the first five minutes of most of the runs I do are still tricky, even now ( there are scientific reasons for this), but it passes.
Well done, keep on plodding... it will be so worth it!!!!
You've chalked yet another run off, and you overcame the gremlins. Double win.
Just remember it was that bad Wk1 R1 and hasn't been that bad since! Keep at it
No it's not! Well done for what you've already achieved. You will get the odd duff run, but hey! You did it!👏 So battle on!. Make sure you are well hydrated, and your not going too fast, so SLOW wins the battle. I know it's tough with the gremlin's, we all do! So you have no bad pain, well! Push those gremlins aside and go on. As you go on and get fitter the gremlins will diminish..You will do this!😊
You had a bad run. When I came back from one convinced I was a failure, useless, never meant to be a runner etc, etc My husband (an ex-runner, knackered by an Aikido injury) looked at me as if I was mad and said "What? You've never had a bad day before? " and that's what it was. Each bad run we get through makes us stronger and helps us through the next one when we recognise it for what it is. If you are a sweary person (I am ☺️) you may find telling the Gremlins to " swiftly remove themselves from their current location" and "consider placing their cranium up their fundament" helps quite a lot😂 Keep on running, I have every confidence you will succeed 🏃🏃🏃
I will definitely try the swearing next time I go out Bundoodle 
Ooooh do you know I wish the dratted G word had never been invented! I wish I had the power to magically, telepathically expunge it from our collective consciousness, banished forever down a black hole.
I don't have trouble with em as they don't exist 😋
Right then i have honed in on you across the ether and sent you positive vibes ((((((((())))))) You should be OK from here on in 😊 Jog on x
Thanks for the positive vibes ((((((())))))) here's some back at you
(doom and gloom....)
I would love to tell you that every run won't be full of self-doubt, but you know what, it just might. You are pushing your body significantly harder, further and differently than it is used to, and it doesn't like it or want it.
This whole C25K plan is just as much about training your mind as it is your body.
Some/most? runs are just plain hard. I don't think I've had a single run without thinking, at least in the beginning of the run 'ugh, no.'
(the silver lining...)
But you know what, every. single. run. you do is PROOF that you are lying to yourself. You CAN do, because you HAVE done it and will continue to do it.
(the glory)
The gremlins will probably always be there but you know what else happens eventually? There is a beautiful moment of peace, calm and tranquility where you get into a rhythm, your breathing is slow and easy and you feel like you can run forever. No longer a waddling unbalanced elephant (me, not you) but a lithe gazelle forcing physics to its will and running forever.
(the takeaway)
Gremlins lie, you have proven that 14 times (4x3+2). Don't go out expecting it to be 'easy', it won't be. However, it IS sustainable, and it gets better but it takes time. You have already made amazing progress and you can keep making it. But you need to chose to listen to your head and the evidence, not the gremlins.
I would caution against making the number 1 mistake, which is to go far too quickly. The plan is about running 30 minutes, forget the 5K. That will come in time.
Hope this helps - it will get better, but you will sometimes need to knuckle down and just do it. Slowly, walking if necessary, but every other day get out there and WIN :-).
P.S> Yes, this is mainly written to me because I am utterly demotivated to go and do my 5K this evening in this murky, humid, moist mess of a day. You know what though, I will do it, I will not want to and will be tempted to give up for the first 5 minutes but then I will come home with another 5K. How great will that feel :-).
Top post yatesco , you have said it all
Chin up Ginge ! You can do this , yes you can ! xxx
Thanks for your words of wisdom. Enjoy your run tonight
If it helps, my last run felt awful but was actually pretty great: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
You might also find healthunlocked.com/couchto5...... useful (post is mine, wisdom is others)
Thanks for taking time to post your advice and encouragement it has made me reassess the way I am feeling. I may change my name to ginger winner when I get to the end of the program
It will get better; wk4 is the week I hated most of all.
Although I've had the odd not so good run since none were as bad as week4.
It's definitely onwards and upwards after that week
Plod on; you know you can do this!! X
Nice to know I am not alone in my hatred of Wk4!!!!
Definitely not; I think there's a few who hated that week 😬
Well, at least part of your mind must have the will and the strength to carry on, otherwise you would have actually stopped, wouldn't you? 😉
Just listen to *that* part; the more you do it, the stronger its voice will become, the easier it will get.
You can definitely do it.
Thank you secan, having now recovered I can see the truth in that
I just finished run 3, week 4 and I found it gets easier by day. I had some way to go to get back to where I parked so ran as much as I could despite having finished the podcast and pushed myself to nine minutes. It wasn't easy but rewarding.
I hated running my whole life. The first few weeks of this are relatively easy even for me. I find if I force myself to do a few extra minutes after the run I am better prepared. I also tore my MCL last summer so I've had to start over but, my knee doctor recommended compression socks. They've been amazing at keeping shin splints away and overall helping me push a bit harder l
They do advise if you haven't done the previous week comfortably enough to move on, to just repeat the week. I think it's not a competition so if I have to go and repeat a week I'm okay with it because overall the goal is to learn to run independently and take it at your own pace. No matter how quickly or slowly you go through the training, you can be proud that you are doing something healthy for you, not for anyone else. I don't care if it takes 18 weeks, I'm doing this to improve my quality of life.
I wish you the very best
Xx
I really recommend the HEADSPACE meditation app. You need to start training your mind to tackle those self sabotaging thoughts.
I've been applying "body scanning" techniques and meditation techniques to my runs to help shut my anxious negative brain up!
Good Luck.
Week 7 loving it but not losing weight?!
Loving it!
Week 9 and still loving it !
Loving it 
Loving it...............
