Couch to 5K

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W4R2

That's another run under the belt The first three minutes were hard, for some reason and seemed never ending. The five-minute run that followed was better but with a little flagging. I don't remember much about the second three minutes but the final five seemed to fly as I knew it was the last run! It is hard at times but I'm not going to let any of my followers down, especially after all the support and encouragement I'm getting Lets all keep it up!!

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Brilliant. Well done . You are doing so well 👏👏. Great persistence and it will be well worth it😁

Your description of the run is a mirror image of how I felt about w4r1.

Yes, I remember reading it. Must be something about W4!!

Yay you! Nothing worth doing is easy, but sounds like you’re in control of this... good run.

Thank you! Control?? I'm seriously doubting my sanity, haha

Insanity may be part of it... my mate did two Marathons a week apart, that’s insane... then he beats that with 64 miles over two days, that’s bats*** crazy! Embrace the madness

Craaaaaaaazy

I think I felt encouraged by people on here talking about the “toxic 10”. That first 10 minutes where your muscles are trying to adjust and you’re in oxygen debt mode. After that they get things sussed and start to function more smoothly. Your body is amazingly adept at coping and I think that’s why all of us on this forum are in awe of ourselves. We just didn’t realise we were capable of doing this!

It certainly gets me through that really horrid first 10 minutes by knowing this.

Having repeated this run myself just the other day, despite being a graduate, I realised just how my body is trying to re-adjust all the time. I struggled but the muscle memory kicked in and I got through it after a holiday break of no exercise whatsoever.

I love that description - toxic 10. How apt. Our poor bodies!! But we're being cruel to our bodies to be ulitimately kind to them, ie being fit and healthy

Yup. True. But eventually I guess that toxicity goes away as the body adapts. It’s just all part of the process. Like some humans are able to run miles and miles quite naturally because it’s part of their heritage.

As a fairly unfit, white, middle aged female who’s pretty well looked after, I’d say the toxic 10 is just a reminder of how mollycoddled I’ve been and how I take stuff for granted. 😬

Awesome Antonioa! Sounds like you're really getting the hang of it and starting to enjoy it.

Happy running!

Thanks. I think "enjoy" is a slight exaggeration. Something keeps me going and I do look forward to the runs. Perhaps perversely, it is enjoyment!!

You rock!

Go antonioa!! Well done you! Every runs stretches you just a bit more! I wouldn’t describe them as easy either, so don’t think that’s the way you “should feel”. It feels so good to complete a run!! Keep showing up and the body will sort out the rest!! Enjoy!! ❤️