Apologies in advance for this negative post but feel like I need to let it out.
I'm starting to believe that I am just not meant to run. Now I know people will say that anyone can run, millions of people do.....I just cannot find my inner runner.
A lot of this is down to my mindset but I got to week 5 run 3 and it all came crashing down. I have repeated the week over and over and cannot make that 20 minute mark. It is a killer. If I don't have the running mindset then I don't have the running mindset much as I may want to.
The app says I should be able to do it, my husband managed it a breeze, millions on here before me have succeeded.....so why can't I? I celebrate in the achievement of others, envious of those who seem to skip through it like they have another gear i don't possess.
I shall sit here with my newly acquired stress fracture and ponder my second failure at completing this blooming programme
Written by
Looroll10
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No need to apologise - venting is good! But promise to read all the replies, and take everything on board. So sorry though, to hear you have struggled. I’d say running is 90% in the head, and 10% physical. (Just in my experience). So, you have to trick your head to reach your goals. For the 20 min run, you could try a completely new route, and listen to a podcast to distract yourself - I love Runpod with Jenni Falconer. Also, and I am sure you already do this, but slow down as much as you can. Then go slower. I also have a mantra for when I am struggling: I repeat over and over in my head “you can do this, you ARE doing this!” Weirdly, it works. Choose a positive mantra to block out that negative voice in your head (which we all have from time to time, trust me.)
But you say you have a stress fracture? 😱 Where? Leg? Foot? You poor thing! Rest - and speedy healing to you.
Do you mean you have a physical stress fracture, or just a mental one?
Either way, it is probably down to pushing too hard.
Have you read the guide to the plan? healthunlocked.com/couchto5... which explains the easy conversational pace which makes the running achievable and enjoyable.
Push hard and believe it or not it is hard.............slow down and you may have an epiphany.
We have an admin in this community who really struggled on that run........she now runs half marathons......slow down and believe in yourself.
You can do this.........if you want to.........maybe you don't.
Sorry about your fracture: make sure you’re fully recovered before you try anything too physical !
I found this programme really hard the first time through and I’m finding it equally hard mentally the second time. Some people find the joy of running and that it becomes easier and more fun the more they do it. You and I haven’t found that. That’s not our fault, so don’t feel all guilty and apologetic about it. You’ve done nothing wrong.
If a run is really hard, that’s your body telling you it’s not quite ready yet. Run what you can and walk the rest. The next time out, aim to run longer, even by just a few seconds, and whittle it down. You’ll build up strength and stamina which will pay off later. It took me nine weeks of repeats to conquer week 1, so I know what I’m talking about here 😄
Alternatively, try something different that suits you better. Fun can be overrated but fitness can’t. Look after yourself and keep us posted x
OK Looroll10 .... deep breath now. Take me through what happens when you go out for W5R3.
At point do you stop? Why do you stop? What's stopping you? Is it your legs? Are you out of breath? Is it mental? What do you physically feel like at the point at which you decide to stop? How are W5R1, W5R2 for you?
You know *Week 4* was the hard bit don't you? That was the biggest jump in TOTAL running in the whole program from 9 minutes in Week 3 to a whopping 16 minutes!
Now that you've done W5R2 (well done!) you now have 157 minutes of running under you belt. Surely enough to ready your body for a 20 minute jog! W5R1 is a total of 15 minutes running. W5R2 is 16 minutes, so 20 minutes is perfectly doable, as *thousands* of users here will attest.
Remember my mantra: every run you've done prepares you for the next one, It's very simple but true. As ever with W5R3 worries... it shows (as said above) the body is ready but the mind is not! Yes, your body has been prepared for this... as it has for every run so far.
You mean you haven't tried Japanese Slow Running yet?
Hi Looroll10, well done for being honest about how you feel and for sharing this with us. Your post started with an apology, and so, I'm afraid does mine! I apologise for what is probably going to be a long reply from me, it's my story.
As a child, I was always the 'weedy kid' who was always chosen last for playground football teams and that kind of thing, plus I was bullied, but that didn't (and doesn't) bother me. As I've carried on through life (I'm 63) although I've always been active and have even played squash regularly for over 35 years I've still never been very strong or sporty (but again that's not a problem). As I've got older I've gained a bit too much weight, my cholesterol level has gone a bit too high (a family problem) as has my blood pressure. I also have developed some sort of strange phobia over the past 25 - 30 years about running. If I tried to run, after literally a few steps I would look how far it was to the lamp post I'd decided to run to, my chest would tighten, I'd start finding it difficult to breathe, and I'd just have to stop and compose myself. I knew it was a mental thing as, if I had to run through a car park (for example) to get to my car because it was raining, I could do that no problem. Around the time of my birthday last September I was looking for ways to improve my health. (I suppose it was the thought of getting older, combined with these niggling health issues that brought this to mind. One of my (fit) squash playing mates just mentioned that he regularly does a Park Run and I said I'd love to be able to do that, and explained why I thought that I couldn't. He told me about the C25K plan, and within a couple of days I'd ordered myself a pair of proper running shoes! Thinking this will help me with my general health & well being, plus it could cure me of my silly phobia, this would all be a great achievement. So, when I first started C25K in September I simply thought that in 9 weeks time I would be running for 5K, once I'd had my first attempt at Week 1 I realised that it would be taking me a lot longer. Then I found this wonderful forum, and also learned that even when I reached the end of C25K I may well be running for 30 minutes, but it was unlikely that I'd be covering 5K by then. I pushed on in the course, stubbornly not fully taking on the advice about slowing down and also thinking I was doing the right thing to prepare myself, by looking to see how long the runs were going to be ahead. I tried various distraction techniques to take my mind off the length of the runs, finding that music didn't work for me because I instinctively ran to the beat, which was too fast. I did numerous practice runs and had a number of hiccups and setbacks, only once reaching the heady heights of W4 R1 once before finally stopping completely at the beginning of December to reappraise things. I decided a new approach was needed, and that I'd start again after Christmas, right from the beginning. Christmas and the New Year came & went and it was 18th January before I got myself back out there. My new regimen was to take heed of the run slow and then slow down some more advice, plus NOT to look at what lies ahead, and to just trust the plan (and Laura) because every run prepares us for the next one. Alongside the C25K app, I'd play a metronome app too to help my pacing and following suggestions on here about using listening word type podcasts as a distraction, I downloaded a load of Radio 4 comedy programmes onto my phone, which are also around 30 minutes long, so ideal. I am please to say that, so far I have got to the end of W5 R1 with only 1 practice (W4 R1, my nemesis), but then I'd been there before & knew I'd struggled last time. As you can see from way back in my story (if you'rs till awake!) I am sure that although my fitness levels are a restriction, the biggest part of the challenge for me is the mental side of things. Once I start to doubt that I can do something, I prove myself right by not being able to! Now I've (finally) slowed down, I have help in place to control my running pace, I have my distraction and I have faith/confidence in Laura, knowing that she won't ask me to do anything she doesn't think I'm capable of I am doing a lot better. I am sure that once you have recovered from your stress fracture if you can go back out there and run nice and slowly, trust the C25K programme and maybe find yourself a distraction to take your mind off what your body is doing, you will find that your body can and will do it for you. That should give you such an adrenaline rush tat you won't need to ,post on here and tell us how it went, we will all hear you cheering wherever you are (but do post on here and tell us, just in case I'm listening to one of my podcasts at the time so don't hear you!) Good luck with it, as Laura says, you can do this.
Thank you so much for your post as I was beginning to feel that it was just me. I have struggled on all of the runs that I have done so far. Don't get a high when I've finished just glad that it is over. Am going really slow and struggle to breath. Try to slow down but struggle with that too. You are not alone. Each day is a new start and an opportunity to try again, one step at a time. Good luck and let me know how you get on.
I'm so sorry to hear this. First of all, if you have an actual stress fracture - stop! Assuming that's not the case, you need to stop putting pressure on yourself (easy said, I know).
I'm a big believer in starting any journey from the place that you're in, not the place the programme tells you you should be. Why not just go out for a walk/run without any tech, take it slowly and just chill? There's no pressure, it's something you can't 'fail' at. Instead of running to time, look around and maybe decide to jog to the next lamp post and then walk to the one after that.
When you're in a better headspace, try the programme again, or don't (heretical, I know). As long as you increase your running time slowly, you could work it out for yourself; it may be that it's the trying to follow the programme that's stressing you.
This is a useful website; 'Jeffing' is what we've all been doing on c25k. Remember, running is supposed to be enjoyable, not a slog. There's no exam at the end of it for you to pass or fail. It takes as long as it takes.
Good luck, and I'm full of admiration for your determination.
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What sort of runner do I want to be
Am I really here???? Really?? Me?!
I want to enjoy 
W5R3 - I've only gone and flippin' done it!!
You can do this
