Wrestling with patience

[runningyogini]

So far I've been doing the calendar thing: Wk 1: 4 runs, Wk 2: 3 runs, Week 3: 4 runs. Now I'm wondering whether to forget that and move on to the next level on run 4 of each calendar week? Any thoughts?

[Buddy34 Graduate]

Do you mean like running Monday, Wednesday and Friday and sticking to that 😊

[runningyogini Graduate in reply to Buddy34]

No. I mean still running every other day as I do now. But, I would start the new week after the day off and after completing the 3 runs of the previous week? Hope I'm making sense!

[MarkyD Graduate]

Ahh, I see what you mean.

Most folks either run the 3 runs on set days each week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and so have 2 days off before starting the next week.

Less common is for folks just to take one day off between runs (so Monday, Wed, Fri, Sun, Tues, Thurs, Sat, Mon...) and work through the program more quickly. Instead of 3 runs per week, they do 7 runs in 2 weeks.

I don't think that I've ever seen anyone in the last 5 years post that they combine it by running W1r1, W1r2, W1r3, W1r4, W2r1, W2r2, W2r3 and then W3r1 etc.

You propose running on alternate days, and advancing through the program three runs at a time. I'd strongly encourage you to do this. This will mean running 4 times one week and 3 times the following week. But you'll advance through the program and only run each week 3 times.

By way of an example, let's start W1r1 on a Monday.

Most folks run MWF, 2 days off and then start W2r1 the following Monday.

Some folks run MWFSuTuThSa and start W3r1 on that final Saturday.

You've been running MWFSuTuThSa and start W3r1 on the next Monday. To do this, one of the weeks needs to have an extra 4th run. That'll get complicated in W5 and W6.

So I propose that you simply alternate running and rest days, and only run each week 3 times. That is the 'Some folks run...' example. As the running gets longer W5/6/7/8/9 you may find that you want to drop down from alternating days and give yourself an additional day off. That's perfectly OK, just listen to your body at the time.

[runningyogini Graduate in reply to MarkyD]

Thank you. That's great advice. I'll keep you updated on how it works out.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

As the guide to the plan states, C25k weeks don't have to coincide with calendar weeks. So a long as you have at least one day off between runs, you will be fine to run alternate days. Three runs in each C25k week, but occasionally four in a calendar week.