Keep going or repeat a week?

[Bay_girl]

Hey all, I'm just about to complete week 7 and the last of the 25 minute runs. To be honest I didn't think I could run for 25 minutes but I have! The thing is when I did the second run of week 7 I really don't think I had anything left by the time I finished. I was exhausted. Someone told me once that you should always finish a run wanting to run a little bit more. It is making me dread the next 25 minute run a little bit. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm wondering if I should go back to week 6 before moving on to 8? Any suggestions or advice is welcome!

[nhs2015 Graduate]

We do get bad runs or bad weeks now and again. It is annoying specifically if you had planned and looked forward to your run and suddenly found that your legs won't "do the walking" .

I would be tempted to redo this bad run only and move on. It is not that you can't do it, it is just a bad run. Period. You will be fine. Take care

[davelinks Graduate]

Well done! Carry on! You'll do it! I felt that way, a lot of us do.. remember slow & steady!😊

[orchards Graduate]

I'd wait to decide till you've done the 3rd one. There were several weeks when I found myself thinking after the 2nd run that i would need to repeat the week and then the 3rd one was good enough to be confident that going on was ok. So if you feel better after your next 25 minutes then carry on because you have completed 3 for the week but if you still feel exhausted it's worth doing at least one extra week 7 run.Happy running!

[ancientrunner Graduate]

Don't go back! See how the next one goes and if you finish it move on, otherwise repeat just that run. Good luck - you can do it.

[Irish-John Graduate]

I wish I had repeated some runs but I was so eager to graduate I went against my instincts and "progressed" from runs I knew in my heart I had barely managed.

The downside came when, after graduation, it took me longer to get in consistently manageable longer runs as I progressed to 5k distance and beyond.

There are no "bad" runs in the sense that if we do our best they are in reality "practice runs" really. To my mind the truly bad run is one that makes you miserable even when you "achieve" your target. It also has a potential to put you on the injury couch.

Take it slow and steady and keep it enjoyable on some level at least and graduation day will arrive and feel much more enjoyable Very few graduate "on time and with 5k" after all

Best wishes whatever you decide

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Do the programme. All it asks you to do is to sustain a running motion throughout the run sections and a walking motion throughout the walk sections. If you did that, you do the next run in the programme.

The programme has the potential to improve psychological resilience as well as physical fitness. And so much of that is about how you respond when things *don't* come easily. It's actually pretty good to have a tough run experience under your belt during the programme - yes, you feel nervous about the next run but learning to just 'be with' that feeling and not take fright and back off is all part of the process. (And we can all safely do that because it is a gradual programme)

[runswithdogs Graduate]

There were many runs that I didn't feel ready to progress from, but I moved on anyways and did just fine. I'd go to the next run, but consciously try and keep it slower from the start.

[Von99 Graduate]

I would see how you go on the next run. If you still feel your struggling then there's no harm in doing another week 7 run. I always felt that I reached my limit and how was I going to run an extra 5 minutes, but somehow I did. I think a lot of our battles are in our head. But even if you decide to do week 7 again, you're still running for 25 minutes longer than you did 8 weeks ago, think what you've achieved!

[Miller2]

They way I see it if you managed it then keep going forwards. I've NEVER had anything left in the tank after a run. When Laura used to tell me to "go for it" in the last minute, I had to use all my power just to breathe and stay upright, there was no way I ever had any more to give in that last minute. That applied when I started and it still applies now I'm running for 45+ minutes. At the end of the day the programme works and I think I'd just put it down to being a bad run. We all have them. The one I did last night I hated, but then my next one could be brilliant, who knows. Just tell yourself that you've done it twice and succeeded both times, what difference does one more 25 minute run make? You already know you can do it Roll on week 8. I found week 8 daunting too (who am I kidding, I found every week daunting!). I told myself that it's just 3 more minutes, so 1.5 minutes extra in the first half and 1.5 minutes in the second half. Happy running!

[Ullyrunner Graduate]

Just carry on. If you are completing the runs you're fine! I often don't feel I've got anything left in reserve! 😓

Keep going - it will get easier.

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate]

Don't worry Bay_girl you still completed the run..😊 so just carry on!

You have been doing all the ground work for these runs and have been training yourself to keep going.. 25 mins is fantastic. Yes its hard, but remember to take it a bit easier at the start and go as slow and steady as you can. You are doing this..some runs will feel harder than others but don't worry if you feel exhausted at the end thats quite normal. You soon recover and feel fantastic for acheiving your goal.

Go you and good luck..😊

[FozSoc Graduate]

Hi, I'm in exactly the same place as you - about to attempt the final run of Week 7. I was due to do that this morning but I have pain in my calf (making walking up and down the stairs painful) and decided that as I was running every other day, ie 4X/week and not 3, I could afford an extra day to let my muscles rest. Like you, I didn't believe I could get this far and have also repeated a few of the earlier weeks when I didn't feel confident enough to move on.

But look at it another way; you've already done three 25 min runs if you include the last run in Wk6. I think it's ok to feel as though the fuel tank is empty! Didn't many of us feel that in the earlier runs too? I have been finding the first half of the 25min a real struggle but then once past that and possibly slowing down a bit, have found the latter half much better. Are you running in hilly areas? I have and the only way I think I coped with the longer runs was to change my route to avoid going up the hill more than twice, and run instead on flat ground (ok, maybe there was a slight decline). I felt I was cheating a bit at first but now feel the hilly bits was good preparation for these longer runs.

As so many have already said, see how you go with the last run. Don't decide now. If you can move past week 5 and that leap to 20min running, you can definitely run for the extra 3min for Wk8. Keep your pace slow and steady and breathe. We already did the hardest parts in the beginning. Lets check back with our progress - good luck!

[Bay_girl Graduate in reply to FozSoc]

Thanks for this, it's great to hear from someone who's at the exact same point. I finish week 7 tomorrow evening. My friend who said you should always finish with "energy for more" is also a marathon runner and does hill runs etc. I plod along the flattest route I can find and slow to a walk as soon as she says "Alr...."!

[Gump73 Graduate]

Hi Bay_girl, I did my w7 r3 last night. I can honestly say I found it easier than the first two w7 runs. I was dreading it and fully expecting to have to repeat. I say just go for it. How many times on this programme have you doubted your ability and then surprised yourself! Best of luck 👍

[Donkeywhistler Graduate]

I think you need to have the confidence to adjust the programme to suit you. I repeated a number of weeks because mentally I needed to 'convince' myself that I was going to be able to do it. If you feel you need to consolidate and build stamina before moving on, repeat the week. Trust in yourself.🐢👣🏃🏿