Wk5 R3 dazed and confused

[Hally1973]

I am in a complete state of shock at completing this 20 mins none stop run. Is the program some kind of voodoo?? You all said just go for it and so I did and here I am bouncing about the living room like I’ve just been given a years worth of mint aero’s for free.... What a day 😁💪

[Roxdog Graduate]

Haha! Yes, it's magic! I remember such a feeling of elation after that first 20 minute run. It is quite incredible. All goes to prove we were all born to run!

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Well done !

That's a milestone run to get under your belt , I remember it well.

I was smiling all day long 😬

[Hally1973 in reply to Instructor57]

I feel like I’ve got a coat hanger in my mouth

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to Hally1973]

HAHAHA 😬😬😬

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

NOW you WILL get a a year's worth of mint aero's for free, but wait until you graduate in around 4 weeks.

Congratulations on completing run 3 of week 5, that is a milestone run with C25K, onwards and upwards to week 6 run 1 but be careful about that run as it catches out some people with the interval walks and runs after the non stop 20 minutes of W5R3 which you have just ran 🏃🏾 😊, have a mint, you deserve one. 😊 🏃🏾

[nowster Graduate]

Been there! The last run of week 5 is where you can see the magic of the programme has worked.

I was going round all day annoying everyone repeating, "I've just run for twenty minutes!"

Watch out for week 6, though. Intervals return.

[Maz1103 Graduate]

I never understood how it would work but here I am, 56, never run in my life but I graduated today and never had to repeat any run. My daughter even came with me and made me carry on after the 30 minutes and I did 5k in 37.22. Really chuffed. You will be fine. Good luck x

[2orangey4crows in reply to Maz1103]

Congrats on your graduation AND 5k what an achievement ! You have inspired me to keep going 😁

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Congrats!

But there really is no mystery to W5R3 - it's simply another progression in the program. Think about this for a moment - your challenge is run for 30 mins, 3 times in Week 9. Working backwards from that... at what stage do you start continuous running?

W5R3 is a mental challenge but nothing else - physically, you were prepared for it in the all the previous runs you'd done.

I've explained it in more detail here ( Roxdog Maz1103 you might like this too)

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

and here:

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[chunkypie Graduate]

I prefer "munchies" but I wont hold that against you, Well done 👍

[Blackberrypie Graduate]

I think people are suprised because the plan takes the first few weeks very steadily with gradual increases to allow the body time to adapt. By week 4 you've started to build a base than allows you to do so much more, and the bridge section just develops that.

[Hally1973 in reply to Blackberrypie]

You’re exactly right. You don’t realise how those gradual weeks build your fitness. Whoever designed it is a freaking genius.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Hally1973]

That would be American, Josh Clark ...

>> bigmedium.com/ideas/bbc-how...

[Blackberrypie Graduate in reply to John_W]

I remember thinking early on, "Only 1 more minute of running for this week's sessions? How am I ever going to get to 30 minutes at this rate?"

[BexJogs Graduate]

Nice!! Well done! I loved that run! Take it super steady for W6R1-W6R2. I was tempted to race off ("it's only short!") but so glad I had the advice on here to remind me to hold back a bit. I would 100% run an entire marathon for a year's supply of mint aeros (says someone who is just about managing 25 min!! ha!)

[Hally1973 in reply to BexJogs]

It was tempting to race off and I think I still did a little bit. Albeit unintentionally. Still, felt like a tough run which you think you should breeze through after a long run. However I trust the program. It’s clearly working. The Aeros are getting closer and closer ...

[Couchphoenix Graduate]

A belated congratulations! W5R3 is a real challenge well done on completing it 👍 🏃‍♀️ I expect a few mint Aeros were consumed that day even if they weren’t free 😋