W1R3 Done. BOOM!!! 😅😀

[Chrisc1967]

Just finished week one. Really pleased with myself. But still a little nervous about W2.

I listened to music during today’s session. First time I’ve done that, wow what a difference that made.

My walking sections were at 6.5kph and my Run sections were at 8.5kph. Does that sound ok. I know it’s different for everyone, but is just 2kph the difference between a brisk walk and a run. Also if these speeds are okay, should I aim to do the rest of the 9 weeks at the same speeds, or raise/lower them?

Thanks in advance for any help 👍

[Kamia Graduate]

Well done 👍🏻

I found W2 easier than W1, hope you do too. Good luck with it.

The only thing I know about speed is slow and steady wins the race. Speed isn’t important at the beginning you work on it at the end.

[Chrisc1967 in reply to Kamia]

Thankyou. That’s good to know. Have just had a sneaky peak at the format for W2. Looks doable!! 👍

Deffo agree with the speed thing. Just wondering if and when I would repeat a day or week. Is it if you fail to do all the run sections in a session?

[Kamia Graduate in reply to Chrisc1967]

I’m not to sure on repeating but I’ve read a few people have really struggled so they repeated a run or 2. I think it just depends how you’re coping with the runs. The main aim is to move forward though.

[Chrisc1967 in reply to Kamia]

I think it’s one of my failings. If something says 9 weeks I take it literally. I think I need to just take it as it comes week by week. Not struggling to much yet, but if I do have to do a re run or two, I won’t beat myself up to much. Thanks

[ArthurJG Graduate in reply to Chrisc1967]

You only need to repeat a run if you don't manage to complete it. If you complete it but you were dead slow - you completed it. If you complete it but found it really difficult - you completed it. Only if you didn't complete it, then call it a practice run, take a rest day and do it again (just that run not the whole week). From what I've read here the only way you'd need to repeat a whole week would be if you hadn't run at all for two or three weeks, due to illness or injury or something.

[Chrisc1967 in reply to ArthurJG]

Thanks for that. That makes total sense 👍

[ArthurJG Graduate in reply to Chrisc1967]

Only repeating what I've read from others here I'm only on week 5 so I'm no expert but I find this forum gives great advice and encouragement. Every time something looks hard, there are posts from other people about it saying 'ooh this looks hard' and then 24 hours later from the same people saying 'I did it! It was easier than I thought!'

[Chrisc1967 in reply to ArthurJG]

That’s what I’m finding about this group too. Really feel like part of a running family!

[Melissal Graduate]

Not sure if this will help or not, but in Week 4 my walking was actually faster than my running sections

[Chrisc1967 in reply to Melissal]

So it sounds like there’s no hard and fast rules on speed, which is good to know. Takes a bit of pressure off that I think I put on myself.

[das_vikas Graduate]

Well done on completing W1.

Don’t worry too much about the speed. It will come naturally. The more important thing is to be able to run for the whole duration.

I’m in my W8 and seen improvement in speed over the weeks and I wasn’t even taking any extra measures to increase the speed.

All the best for W2 and beyond

[Chrisc1967 in reply to das_vikas]

Thankyou. So much good advice on here. Wow W8, well done. It seems a long way off for me, but I’m sure it will come around all to soon 😅

[Jay66UK Graduate]

Well done. “A little nervous” is probably the best approach to every week.

As for speed, we are all so different it’s impossible to say. The programme wants you to go slow enough that you can talk throughout.

(Tbh, I’d fail on that as my breathing is awful for the first third of the longer runs.)

Don’t get hung up on speed - this is a duration programme aimed at getting you to 3x 30 mins in a week, nothing else. Speed can come later if you want it.

[Fabulous450 Graduate]

Congratulations Chrisc1967! Well done! In relation to speed, just think slow! Like a snail is the mantra that our dear Oldfloss (Administrator) and others teach and I’m now on W3 and feeling great for it! Have a fantastic experience. It’s great being a runner! ❤️

[Chrisc1967 in reply to Fabulous450]

Thankyou. I didn’t imagine that in a million years that I would actually be looking forward to a treadmill lol. A friend of mine recommended it, for the sake of my body And mind. She did the London marathon this year.

One week at a time eh! Who knows where it could lead ❤️🏃‍♂️😅

[Fabulous450 Graduate in reply to Chrisc1967]

Yes, that marathon may not seem like a bad idea to us soon!! Here’s to us new runners and our more experienced inspirers! The forum has been brilliant Chris! Good luck and let’s do this!! 😁😁

[MrsH1969 Graduate]

I've only just finished W1R3 today! It's a great feeling and hope it feels the same in W2. I'm doing it all very (very!) slowly but I think it's the right thing to do to ensure you do complete each 'run' section. For me it's about stamina not speed and a sense of achievement.

Good luck to us both for W2!