Week 4 - help!

[ambler1]

So week 4 starts on Wednesday. 5 minutes of running hmmmmm! I am just about managing 3 minutes in week 3. So here is the question; Do I push on and make myself do the 5 minutes? Or do I take it more gently? Any advice welcome - my body will have the final say I guess.

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

You do both! You are ready for week 4, so you push on... you start w4r1 and you take it gently, slow and steady. You can do it!

[M1ssFranks]

I’m with you! I start week 4 tomorrow - I have the fear! I’m going to try my best to complete it - you do the same! Please please please wish me luck!!

[ambler1 in reply to M1ssFranks]

Good luck - I did it - just about and looking forward to the next one tomorrow!

[Whatnog]

Hi Ambler, congrats on finishing W3!!!! I am just in W5R1 so there will be much wiser and knowledgeable advisors than me. But I would repeat the “trust the program” mantra. If your body made it until here, you should be ok to move forward! I am myself bit scared of the upcoming 8 min next Wed, but decided to give it a try! happy running!

[Monica1969]

Hi ambler1, I’ve just done this tonight, I suffered from muscle pain but it’s not the run that did it.

Keep pushing on, I was the same as you worrying but I did it 🤗

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Your apprehension is totally natural and most C25kers feel the same at some point.

You have not yet appreciated exactly what this amazing training plan is doing to your body.

Each week the demands step up and the week just finished has, in each case, prepared you for the challenge.

It is as much a psychological test as a physical one and you need to approach this with a "can do" attitude, remembering that you can only fail this plan by heading permanently back to the couch. Not completing a workout, just means you have found your level and is in no way a failure.

This post has helped many healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Ultimately, you are in charge, so do it whichever way you are happiest.

[jiggles7 Graduate]

Ah that fear was oh so real this time last week. But do you know what, it actually want that bad and I was determined that week 4 and I were not going to be friends. Give it a go, see how you get on, and if you can’t complete it the first time then maybe the second but you will be able to do it whether it is on your first or 10th attempt. W4 was probably my favourite week so far, oh it was hard but I felt like I achieved so much. Just give it a whirl. And we are all here to cheer you on 😀

[Hidden]

The programme is designed to get progressively harder because it’s all about physical and mental development. It’s also designed to prepare you for it. Every week it’s tougher but so are you! I’m in week 5 and I never thought I could run this far after huffing and puffing through week one but I’ve learned to trust the programme. Go for it, you can do it.

[Jazzyjeff11 Graduate]

I found the final 5 minutes in W4R1 really difficult. I don't think it was because I wasn't capable of finishing, but because I told myself I was too tired to continue. The increase in running time increases self doubt. But you can do it if you go slow, and every run thereafter is a little easier (in my experience anyway!). Good luck for your run 😊. Keep telling yourself you can!

[mad-bad-glad Graduate]

If you are struggling it is possible that no matter how slow you are jogging you may be going too fast. I was the last person I thought could do this, but I have just completed R1 of Wk5 and even though bits were uphill I loved it. Going slower in the beginning has given me the strenght to speed up a bit as I have progressed. But never be ashamed or think you are failing if you have to really turn the speed dial down.