WK5 R1

[katem2507]

Done although looks at the rest of runs and it picks up to 8 mins R2 but R3 is 20mins continuous! Really not sure bout that 🤔🙄

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Regarding run 3 of week 5, don't worry about that, trust the program, all the weeks and runs have been preparing you for that 20 minute run, once you have completed it you will be very proud of yourself. 😊 🏃🏾

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Well done.

Please read this breakdown of W5 to ease your worried mind healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

You can do this.........if you believe you can.

[frogplate]

I was feeling intimidated too, but I followed the advice here and kept my pace down to a speed where my breathing wasn't (too) ragged and 20 minutes flew by. I think that part of the trick is not to think about the time left to go - just letting my mind wander worked for me.

[Katie204 Graduate]

I know it seems like a lot, but if you think about it the two first W5 runs each have 2x 8 mins, with a gap in between - in the third run, you are simply missing out the gap and blending the two runs together. You'll be fine!

[WonderlandWake]

I did it yesterday. I woke up not feeling my best and wrote to my running partner and said I don’t think I can do the 20 mins but I’ll repeat the previous run. After the 5 min warm up I decided to give it a go and astonished myself that could do it.

And felt absurdly proud of myself and physically splendid after.

Believe!

Putting my favourite song on repeat helped

[Piaffesal Graduate]

This is probably the most common post on this forum...😂 (I think I may also have asked the same!)

Most people doubt they are ready, most people smash if first time! Trust the programme, run slowly, you’ll be fine. And when you DO do it, you’ll feel like you deserve a medal!😀

[John_W Graduate]

Well done on running 15 (FIFTEEN) minutes on W5R1 - were you worried about that?

W5R3 is a *mental* test, not a physical one. As ever with W5R3 worries... 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.

I really wouldn't focus on the 'continuous' thing - it has to happen at some point, otherwise... how do you get 3x 30 mins in Week 9. Instead of worrying about the length of individual running segments, think about the TOTAL amount of time you're running for.

With that in mind, you do realise that Week 4 (the most important week in my opinion) was the hard bit, don't you? Week 4 sees the biggest jump in TOTAL running in the whole program from 9 minutes in Week 3 to a whopping 16 minutes! By the time you come to W5R3, you'll 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.

Here's something I wrote on W5R3:

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

...and this: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

As for how to approach it physically, have you tried Japanese Slow Running yet?

youtube.com/watch?v=9L2b2kh...(Not working as expected?)

Or look for "Quick steps: the running shuffle" on YouTube - also v helpful.

Just keep your JOG nice and conversational - easy pace, easy breathing.

Good luck! Not that you need it

John

[Katie204 Graduate in reply to John_W]

I discovered Slow Jogging and the lovely Professor Tanaka (now sadly deceased) a few months ago - this technique really takes the worry out of jogging!