Slightly daft question

[Tigger54]

I've just done w6r1 and am wondering what makes it harder than w5r3. To a newbie like me it seems that one long 20 min run should be more difficult than three shorter runs with recovery time in between, but that's clearly not the case. Can any of you more experienced folk tell me why?

[DNB2512 Graduate]

Just because. You're not the first one to make this observation. It gets easier from now onwards, honest.

[Tigger54 Graduate in reply to DNB2512]

Thanks DNB - looking forward to that 😆

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Well done.

W6R1 is your longest workout to date.

Like most people you are discounting all the hard work you are doing while doing your brisk walk.

There is also the psychological edge............having run continuously for 20 minutes, many believe they have conquered running.............one twenty minute run does not a runner make.

Keep running, keep smiling.

[Tigger54 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thanks very much - yes, oure quite righr, I hadn't really considered the brisk walking bit as part of the overall workout. Really looking forward to w6r2 now.

[Boofle999 Graduate]

I think it's because you go back to interval running - it sounds weird, but I actually found that running for a longer period without the walks was easier, it seemed hard to get going again once I'd stopped running. Now that I am a few weeks into my post graduation running and doing regular 5Ks, I can see why, for me, NOT walking makes for a more enjoyable run - after about the first 10 mins my body takes over and I get into a good, easy rhythm, my breathing settles down and it feels great! I think if I had to keep stopping to walk I would lose all that, and have to build it up again, so that's why I think the first Week 6 run is so hard after W5R3, your body no longer wants to stop because it knows how good it feels to just run!

[Tigger54 Graduate in reply to Boofle999]

Thanks very much for this Boofle - it's really helpful and makes a lot of sense to me. I'm looking forward to seeing how I get on with longer runs. Really encouraging, what you say about getting into a rhythm - hope that's the case for me too.