Hi all,
I can't believe it - I ran for 20 mins and I did 2 miles and I felt like I could have carried on! I'm feeling so pleased with my progress, compared to week 1 where I was sweaty and red faced from 60 second runs!
The question now is whether to complete the plan or shall I do my own thing and carry on doing long runs? Perhaps do 2 more 20mins then move on to 25mins then 30mins...
I'm really enjoying running 😊 Thinking of signing up to a 10K soon!
Well done, you are doing amazingly well, I would highly recommend that you carry on until the end of the programme, you will have lots of experienced people on here to help you as you progress through the programme.
Stick with the plan. It is still early days and it has brought you a long way without injury. Keep it that way by not over doing it.
Well done for a great W5R3.
No carry on with the programme!! It builds your strength and stamina in a structured way!! What’s the hurry? Just go with the extra weeks.
Stick to the program, we know it works and will get you to 30 mins injury free.
Week 6 is an important week, the intervals are back for a reason. You are still building up your stamina and strengthening your legs. The program is structured to do this safely...
No hurry...you are doing well😊..
Yep I agree, see it through to the end. It's 9 weeks for a reason and I'm guessing the experts that designed it had good research based evidence to support why they build us up little by little over this time span. You don't want to do yourself a mischief after all do you. 
Carry on till week 7 at least, I think, and then stick to the totals outlined in weeks 7, 8, and 9... Good job!!
Follow the programme...stick to it...like glue
You may feel great..but the legs could be hiding all sorts of issues.. this programme is a slow and steady build up...as Bluebirdrunner says.. the weeks are all important for different reasons.
Move too fast and the only destination is the injury couch... the 10 K can be yours, sometime in the future...but only after you complete your building up of running muscles, stamina and strength...!
If you are asking this question on this forum then it seems highly unlikely that you know more about running than the people who devised the plan. Assuming you are new to running, you have only a few minutes of experience. Of course you can go off and do your own thing, but how will you know whether you are progressing at a satisfactory rate or whether you are pushing too hard.
Stick with the plan. It has turned countless thousands of people into runners. W5R3 is a fabulous moment of realisation that you can become a runner..........but you are not there yet and there are no shortcuts.
Doing too much too soon is a common cause of injury. You need to continue to carefully and slowly build your running legs and body. The plan will continue to do that for another three weeks. After that it is recommended to consolidate at that stage for a few weeks before moving on again.
I am afraid that your question betrays a naivety and lack of knowledge about running.........you still have a lot to learn.
Well done on your progress and if you do it, W6R1 is much harder than it looks. Good luck.
Hi Bera...well done on W5R3...that really was a tough one for me but when I did it, I was elated....but afterwards, dare I go off & do my own thing?? Not on your nelly, would I heck!! I love flying but I wouldn’t fly a plane!! I’d have to be trained first & get the qualifications by going on the correct course & completing it...and that’s what this is, it’s a programme designed to train your body into doing something it’s not used to doing...so my advice to you would be to carry on with the programme till the end...and then who knows where you’ll end up? Enjoy it...& besides, why wouldn’t you want to be part of this forum with all these gorgeous people encouraging you?? Stick with it...
Thanks for all your replies all, you all concurred with each other and you're right - I should stick to the plan. I think I just got a bit carried away bc I surpassed my own expectations!
I'm looking forward to the next few weeks, hoping to do the 5k by the end and carry on from there 😊😊
Complete the plan, if only to encourage the rest of us.
I know the programme drops back to shorter runs but I can only assume there is a reason for this. I've just done W5R3 and that seemed impossible on Sunday, so I'm definitely going to leave myself in their hands,
.
Don't be fooled by week 6! It definitely is a step up. You'll smash it though
I do believe I'm starting to enjoy this running thing!
Do I keep going? 
Do I just carry on or do I go back a bit? 
W5R3 - Did I do it? Read on...
W5R3 - I did do it! 
