Jump to 20 mins running - week 5

[Mur8h]

I have found the 3rd run in week 5 really impossible. It has jumped from 8 mins with a walk to a solid 20 mins. I feel very deflated as I simply couldn't do it and knowing I had to go for 20 mins without a break I didn't even get past 5 mins I felt like giving up. Not happy really as I felt I'd been doing really well but I feel the jump to a solid 20 is too much.

[Tonkabella]

Hi 😊. Oh dear... really feel for you. The trick to doing it is to slow right down, slower than you would normally go. You said knowing you had to run 20 mins without a break you didn't get past 5 mins .... I think the "I can't do this gremlins "got into your head and failed you before you even started. You Can do this... the previous runs have prepared you for it. I've yet to do this 20mins but I have already mentally prepared myself for it and have my plan set out. I don't care if I'm walking faster than I'm running but I will run for 20 mins. I won't let the gremlins get to me. Please don't give up on this... keep giving it a go till you do it, it doesn't matter if you have to try another few times till you do, just don't give up and believe in yourself... tell the gremlins to go away your stronger than they want you to be. Please lets us know how you get on. 😊🏃🏽‍♀️

[Mur8h in reply to Tonkabella]

I think the hard part is I HATE doing it - I just don't get how people say they clear their heads and feel great - I don't at all - its a complete CHORE that I am doing because I feel I have to. I actually hate exercise. I feel better for having said it. I've tried all the usual things listening to music, watching tv programmes (I am on a treadmill) and I definitely wouldn't run outside for a million pounds. I still hate it. I won't give up though. I will start again at run 1 week 5 and give it another go at week 5 - see how I get on.

[Phoenix192 Graduate in reply to Mur8h]

I hate running with a passion too but feel I ought to be doing it. I am generally active and sporty but just haven't taken to running. I can walk for miles and find it so frustrating that my running pace is slower than my walking pace and I'm knackered after 5 minutes. Fortunately (?) I'm too stubborn to give up. If you discover the magic bullet please share!

[Tonkabella in reply to Mur8h]

Okaaaaay..... the problem is you hate it... plain and simple. You say you hate Exercise per se.... so Why you are taking part in something you Hate..... life is waaaay too short to do things you don't like let alone hate. I wish I could give you some of my enthusiasm and the buzz I get every time I complete a run.... my case a slow jog 😂 but I can't. The Gremlins will remain with you until You kick them out unfortunately 😢I really hope I read somewhere down the line that you completed this And enjoyed it. Good Luck and please keep us updated. 😊🍀🍀

[deadandalive Graduate in reply to Tonkabella]

I agree with @Tonkabella: you let them gremlins get to you. That’s fine, they do for all of us at some point. It may help to keep telling yourself like I’ve learned to that you can’t know what you can or can’t do until you’ve tried it. I’m sure you didn’t think you could have come this far five weeks ago but here you are. And you can go beyond this still. You can do this, I promise!

[deadandalive Graduate]

Hey I feel you. The first five to ten minutes are actually the hardest. Around here we call them the Fatal Five or Toxic Ten. But I promise you can push through and it actually gets easier. And then when you have you know you can do it again. It’s really what you’ve been doing on every run so far.

Read more about that here, in this wonderful post by the amazing @IannodaTruffe: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

The important thing is to remember that running is as much mental as it is physical. Read more about that here: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate]

It's all been said.... ultimately you CAN do this but you have to believe it and you have to WANT it. You don't have to like it but you absolutely CAN do it...

[ktsok Graduate]

Ouch. I feel your pain! It does sound from what you say that it was the mental side that got to you, rather than the physical? You ran 8 minutes x2 so 5 minutes should have been fine... it was the mental hurdle of the 20 minutes that got to you...

I didn’t enjoy running for the first 7 weeks. I had a sense of achievement, felt great at times about overcoming the physical and mental blocks, but it wasn’t until I watched a slow running video and then slowed down to a pace I really could breathe normally and talk properly at, that I discovered how relaxing running can be. Prior to those week 8 runs, despite completing each run, I suspected that I just wasn’t ‘built’ for running. I nearly gave up and walked away in week 6. People talk about the toxic 10 and I really did suffer it those first 10 minutes before it would ease up and I found my rhythm (then it would hard again then easy, in waves). Once I figured out how to run slow, particularly for those first 10 minutes, I didn’t experience the toxic stage anymore.

I graduated last week and have run 2x 5Ks in the past few days - with a smile on my face! I mix the pace a bit, depending on the terrain and how I feel on the day... if I feel tired, I slow down... then slow again... learning to recover whilst running gives you options!

To cut a very long story short: this is probably your lowest ebb. But maybe it will be a turning point for you... slow down, right down... watch this:

youtu.be/9L2b2khySLE(Not working as expected?)

And give it a try maybe...

Best of luck to you. 🙂

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Sometimes a run sucks... or always if you truly hate it... and some days it’s just not as easy as the run before. From what you’ve said though the issues you had are not totally related to the 20 minutes, as you didn’t get past 8. Also, last time you didn’t run 8 and a walk... you did 2x8 and a 5 minute brisk walk... that’s 21 minutes of heart raising cardio... so there is no big jump... heart and lungs say 20 is easier than 21... legs won’t notice much of a difference... it’s all in the mind, that’s the only bit of you that sees this run as different. Reading about your run either you let the voices in your head defeat you, or you went too fast... maybe both. Try and relax well before you go out... on the warmup tell yourself out loud that you can do this... and start that run as slowly as you can... you can do it... but it will take some determination to keep going when the doubts come. I didn’t enjoy running until after week 6... sure I got a buzz after and enjoyed the fact I’d done it... but I can’t say there was any pleasure in the run itself. When I dropped the speed right down I got a buzz during the run. I started off dating running, and at some point I fell in love.

You can get this next time out!

[ktsok Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Snap 🙂

[Dexy5 Graduate]

The way I got around the thought of 20 minutes was like this. First of all I kept saying to myself I love running. If you keep saying it you believe it. Jo Whiley taught me that one.

Second, I ran for 5 minutes then turned around and ran for 5 minutes, doing this until you’ve done 4 lots of 5 minutes. It takes your mind off the full time and gives you a visible target to aim for each time.

You can do this, you’ve just got to have faith in yourself and the programme.

[Buddy34 Graduate]

You will do it just try and try again if needed you will get there good luck

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

If you hate doing this then you are at a huge disadvantage...... you are likely to use any excuse to stop. A positive attitude will make all the difference. healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

If this is such purgatory, I suggest that you are going too fast. Slow down to the recommended easy conversational pace, at which you can speak clear ungasping sentences as you run and miraculously you will find that running is a pleasurable experience.

As for W5R3, there is no huge jump, as others have pointed out. This post healthunlocked.com/couchto5... dissects that week and puts it into perspective.

If you want to do this then you will........only you will make you and only you will stop you.