Repeating week 5 as I can't doR3!& Breathing question

[Fairydust99]

I'm just repeating week 5 this week as I tried R 3 last week but it was awful. True I didn't sleep too well so put it down to that! Now I've just done R2 again and tfind myself back to R3! 😝 I have just read a post though where someone said to try 10m run/2min walk/10min run then move on to 15minrun/2 mine walk/5 mine run so my aim on Thursday is that. I can manage the 8 minutes just about so now have to push myself to 10 mins. Not quite so daunting as 20 mins!!!

I do find when I first start running that I feel/sound like I have asthma (I don"t) but then after about 10 mins walking/running it gets easier! Any ideas on how to help that?

[LouCollier]

I found after 10 mins it gets easier (part of this I think is knowing your past the half way point and there is less to do than what you have already done). It really is about believing in yourself and trusting the program.

I found it also helped to slow my running down and if you are struggling slow it down again - the feeling once you have completed this run is excellent.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Beccym Graduate]

I can now run for an hour without stopping but I still find the first 10 mins harder than the last 10.

Just keep trying and don't give up. The program works.

[Slinkyminky Graduate]

I think you need to put last weeks behind you as a bad run; lack of sleep would have not helped.

For wk5 run3 a lot of it is mind over matter; approach it as you know you can do this (we're all behind you urging you on) X

You need to take it slow slow and slower still; once you get to the half way stage it's counting down then and you will absolutely know that you will complete this.

I always find the first 5 mins of any of the runs the hardest; normally by ten min mark I've then got into a nice rhythm and it's easier to carry on running than it would be to have a walk break in the middle and have to then get back into the rhythm of running again

Good luck for your run and let us know how you get on X

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Fairydust99 breathing has always been my biggest challenge - after five years I still run chewing sugarfree gum - the harder the breathing the harder I chew. If that fails to work I do the 'imagine you are running holding two butterflies by your fingertips' if I focus hard enough the breathing usually gets better. If the gum, butterflies don't work then I resort to saying aloud the nursery rhyme - 'one two buckle my shoe'. There is nothing like the feeling you get when you know you have run 20 minutes without stopping. Good luck.

[Katie204 Graduate]

HI there - as the others say, if you are finding it hard going then slow down - but keep those feet running!

As regards breathing, try to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth. I know this might sound wrong - especially when you're tired and gasping for breath - but it made all the difference for me when I was training for my 10k Race for Life. The science behind it is that nasal breathing alters the mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood, and actually helps to widen your blood vessels so your blood can get more oxygen to your body tissues. There is more information on this site: oxygenadvantage.com/science/

[RainbowC Graduate]

I'll be on W5r3 tonight... (again - this is my fourth, fifth, sixth, more? time through the programme) - I'm currently doing each week (or run, for week 5) twice, so as to let my knee get used to what's being asked of it, since going through a week at a time was apparently too much to ask. I did it last week, with my Troublesome Pup living up to her nickname, so am still slightly apprehensive about tonight. But the rational part of me knows that actually the first five minutes will be hard. The next five minutes I'll be telling myself I can do this, and then it'll be half way. Once I've got to the half-way point, the next five minutes will be fine, and sheer stubbornness will get me through the last five (usually!)... Thinking of it as four lots of five minutes definitely makes it more achievable for me than two lots of ten!

[heavyhorse Graduate]

Just go really slow and take steady breaths in and slightly longer breaths out, when you get to 10 minutes or whenever you have been stopping, tell yourself you can stop after the next tree/lamppost/ drain or any landmark, and when you get there tell yourself you can do another little bit and just aim for something else and keep going like that, sometimes giving yourself permission to stop in a minute gets rid of the gremlins and you sneak the extra minutes past them! Good luck and you CAN do it!

[Fairydust99 Graduate]

Thank you so much for the encouragement. Sometimes jI ust need the kick up the butt to tell me to just get on with it! So I will. Wish me luck and I'll report back tomorrow!!! 😁👍