i'm in the middle of week four and i am finding it difficult to pace myself, i find myself trying to compete with myself over distance and time when i should be concentrating on form and a slow steady pace to build stamina, on the last to womble jogs i have done (end of week 3 and first of week 4) i found myself running at a pace which was quickly exhausting me and had to silently scold myself and slow right down.
the urge to go faster is strong in this one ... how do you all pace yourselves, do you find yourself doing the same at this stage
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womblejogger
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Keep it slow and steady... the programme is about so much more than just completing the runs...it is about discipline and structure, and the variation in pace and time builds up so much of our stamina and running strength . You start slowly and gently, you listen to the podcast and you pace yourself gently. Some of us count.. My count was always, 1,2,3,4.. slow and steady
I started a repeat 10K on Sunday.. started much too quickly , realised and pulled back, counting to myself, looking around and focusing on aspects of how I was running. I sometimes deliberately use songs now that I know have a really slow beat, and match my cadence accordingly.
Slow,slow,slower! Do not go fast or you will end up benched!
You will get turned off as well, pack in and may not bother again. Crash and burn merchant! Don't be one of those. The road to five K is littered with them
Better to be Zen about it. Calm, calm, calmer. The slower you can go the steadier your breathing will be. Ragged breathing is a clue 😁
I love your replies...they are what kept me on the right path, and kept me going, when I started in 2015... and many of your words are well and truly fixed in my head Folk would do well to pay heed
Ha ha - I discovered the joy of hornpipes on my music today - they make you run funny but very joyous and rather slow, If I find a good example I will post link.
The advice on here from MissWobble and Dpsl is great advice . I'd just add a few things . I preferred sprint running or I thought I did. (Even though for twenty years the last sprint I did was too the fridge to get a beer out). Like everyone says you have to slow down!
As for how you manage to avoid going off too fast, well, I would add that you won't enjoy it if you go too fast, I try and 'hit' the same time 'lap' time for every lap, as a kind of game. At week 4 you won't be doing many 'laps' necessarily, but you need to get into a pace you are comfortable with and this pace is gonna be slow at the start.
Then there is the obvious one - injury. You increase the risk here. Most of the people on here don't have the time or the money to deal with an injury if it arises. So why risk it?
You will eventually find a pace you are comfortable with and a good part of this course or running in general is that when you find your comfortable pace you are in control , and you can increase by small steps your overall pace times and eventually when you get to the end, your overall 5K time. And feeling in control is better than staggering about trying to keep up with other joggers you might see around you.
Smart watches are also good if you don't have one, I thought initially they would make me want to run too fast but they help, especially with elevation if they are accurate. You understand with looking at elevation that, some parts of your run are gonna go slow and you just let it go, so in that sense pace doesn't matter so much anyway.
Good luck on the course. It's a bit long winded but I am interested in how people approach this couch25k thing. One thing they all do though is start off slow. There is a reason for that!
thanks guys for the advice ... think my problem is more of my perception of how i should be at times ... that i am not a "proper runner" if i am going way to slow ... will take all advice on board for tonight wk4 run 2 and see how i do
Pace your runs now as if you were setting out on a 5 k run. You need to learn that pace you can do that you will be comfortable with that you can sustain over a long period.
The only real way to learn this is by experience. Got a bit more in the tank near the end, then increase your speed a bit. Struggling halfway through then slow down.
It is easier to go slower and find you have reserve then go off too fast and have to keep slowing down as you wither weakly towards the end. So take the cautious route. I learnt this the hard way unfortunately.
There's definitely no such thing as 'too slow' as far as the programme is concerned; it's all about the time you run, not the distance (despite the title!). I found it took me a very long time to be able to judge my running pace from how it felt - more than once I would feel as though I was barely moving and couldn't possibly go slower, only to find when I got home that I'd actually been quicker than normal. And yet other times which felt slow and difficult were just that! Control of your pace will come with practice, just keep at it.
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Week 7 in is the books!!! 
Is a week long gap ok to resume the program at the next run rather than repeating any runs again.? Advice on pace also welcome.
Week one in the bag!
