W4r1 - I'm scared of the gremlins

[Minnielala]

I didn't really understand when anyone mentioned gremlins but today i found i have my own. Right from the get go they sat on my shoulder telling me I couldn't do it. I did do it, but it did not feel good like the previous runs. I felt so deflated afterwards. The 5minutes runs were so hard ☹️. I hope r2 goes better or i might go back to w3 until i feel more confident

[Gillma Graduate]

Sounds like the gremlins were deflated! well done - you saw them off, it sounds like, and they weren't happy. Maybe leave them on the couch with a video next time 😉

[Hidden]

I found this week so very hard. In week 4 the step up felt so awful. Today did wk5r1-3 x5 min runs and although hard did not have me puffing like week 4.

Why? Because I finally got the message about slowing down. Light jog is the term used and that is what I did, and after the warm up, I slowed down the walk a bit too. The end result was that when I finished the last run of w4 I ran for another 30 seconds or so because I knew I had more in me.

This is the speed that will get me to run for 20 mins by the end of this week.

Try it, slow and slower next run.

[Bells411]

Good luck with run 2- maybe you went off too fast today? Take your time and keep going. I did w4r1 today and felt like shouting from the roof tops when I finished- think people in the park wondered why I was grinning from ear to ear but the achievement of running 5 whole minutes felt great!!

[LizH2]

I'm just about to do w4 R1 today. I completed c25k last year but have let slip which is why I'm back here again. I think week 4 is the biggest jump of all the weeks. So don't be disheartened. You did it and by the end of the week you really will have made a major breakthrough.

I just hope I can get through it myself later today!!

[KimLoulou Graduate]

It was hard but you did it!!! Focus on the positives!! I found it hard too and I suspect everyone does. We ran for 16 mins out of 32. That is amazing we should be proud of ourselves. Don't go back. Run forward.

[Wizziewood]

Hi, let me tell you my ongoing story.

Every time I go go out those blessed gremlins sit on both shoulders. As I do my warm up walk they're telling me they don't believe I can do it, when I start running they're yelling at me so we have an enormous argument and guess what ... I can run faster than them now!

Trust in the programme, if I can do it so can you!

Go for it, good luck!

[Wizziewood]

Nearly forgot... Did my first Parkrun on Saturday and for the first time gremlins stayed at home so perhaps you should be thinking about registering. Happy Running!

[Whatsapp Graduate]

You will have good runs and bad runs. I did W8R1 yesterday and to be honest it felt amazing, But I don't imagine that I have turned a corner and every run will just feel like that from now on. What I have really learned so far is just how much of this running malarkey is a mental game: From just getting out the door to finding energy to flat out sprint the last 60 secs of a long exhausting run.

The gremlins do come with me at the beginning. I respect them by not taking any run for granted. Then I get my game face on and just jog. They soon quieten as, with every step, their arguments become less significant.

I think it helps me that I run the same route out and back (increasing more with each longer run) as I can run past a point that was the furthest point of my run from, say W4 and know I can run past that as I have been doing that three times a week now for the past month. By that time the gremlins are well and truly bored.

Just accept that sometimes it wont feel as good. There are plenty of reasons for this. Not all of them obvious. However, every run counts and you did not stop until YOU had finished. Well done!!