I feel like wk 5:3 is out of place...

[katchow]

I'm just restarting the program after a long hiatus and I was looking at the running intervals on Health Unlocked. To me, it looks like wk 5:3 really should have been wk 6:3. That jump just seems a bit arbitrary. I used an app on my phone the last time I did a c25k and it had a consistent progression. I'm not knocking it and I'll probably give it a go, but I was just wondering because I've never seen another program with those intervals. Happy to be running again and back in this community!

Edit: added and amended chart for clarity

[Bowdi]

I've just completed w5r1 today and while I'm looking forward to run 2 and having that push to run 8 mins, I feel the same about run 3. It seems like a huge jump for the same week.

[JacquiAM Graduate in reply to Bowdi]

I did W5R3 this morning - seemed like a big jump but totally doable ... felt great after 😊

[Mashedpotato in reply to Bowdi]

IT IS POSSIBLE. I did it today and honestly it is possible.

It does feel like a big jump at the start but you soon forget that and get a great buzz after

[Tasha99 Graduate]

Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Everyone panics about that run but weirdly it works out fine 👌🏽

[Jundal Graduate]

That's a great run. You'll be fine, you just don't realise it yet. Trust the programme and yourself.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

It is about the structured progression of the programme... extending and developing and teaching us about the discipline in our running... every one that does it is ready for it... and it just takes us on towards Week 6.

[katchow Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thanks, I'm keeping the faith. I really surprised myself with what I was capable of last time I did a c25k program.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to katchow]

... as do many of us...

[Hidden]

Sometimes for fun while running (let's be honest, it's to distract myself from quitting) I quietly tinker with this program in my head. "What if, just for week one, there was an extra day?" "What if this walk break was just a little shorter?" "What if the increase on this week was..."

That week 5 day 3 run just makes me giggle. Like, what? I like to imagine scenarios where it was a typo that never got retracted. Where we're all on some sadistic sweatier version of Candid Camera.

Ultimately I come up with: Someone way smarter than me who knows what they're talking about decided this was a good idea. It still makes me laugh, but I go with it.

Secretly I think it's thrown in there so that Week 6 feels like a sigh of relief. Every day of it is a day where you can say, "But LAST week, I ran 20 minutes." Maybe it makes things feel possible.

[katchow Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Ha ha! I think Wk6:1 will be a nice little break!

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to katchow]

Nope - notoriously one of the hardest runs actually 👍🏽

[Jay66UK Graduate in reply to katchow]

Lots have thought the same and come back with their bottom spanked. It is the run that needs the most respect.

I think that’s why W5R3 is there. To lay a trap for W6R1. Tag team hustlers.

[Ang33333 Graduate in reply to katchow]

It's not a break! Much harder than 20 mins continuous running! Beware!!! Week 5 run 3 was one of my favourite and it makes a lot of sense at the end of the prog. Good luck! 😎

[katchow Graduate]

Not to cause controversy, but I added (Oldfloss's?) chart amended to this post.

[Grimreaper]

It’s an ultimate test of what human body is capable of .. it’s feel big jump . But believe me , by that time our body is ready to give that test .

[F4TMAN]

I did it on Saturday, started out a bit iffy but ended up being the most enjoyable run so far - real sense of progress and achievement.

[MarkyD Graduate]

Sorry if I sound a bit cranky, but I get a bit fed up with all the "surely W5r3 cannot be right" posts.

Just look at the activity duration in the spreadsheet that you posted. The effort in a C25K run is mostly about the duration, not about the split between the running and walking intervals. So with the order that you've shown, W5r3 looks vastly out of place: it is much shorter that the others.

[AnnieW55 in reply to MarkyD]

People just use the app and are missing out on a great deal of the rest of the site - don't realise about pinned posts and the topics section (and graduation badges). Maybe needs a banner or something to tell people where to find things. But I think that would cut a lot of traffic..... Never used the app on my phone, prefer .com on pc or tablet!

[AnnieW55]

With thanks to IannodaTruffe (hope it's ok TI'm). I'm posting his reply to this question from a while ago.

"2x 8 minutes, plus 5 minutes brisk walking......... total 21 minutes.

W5R3 is your shortest workout since W3."