Am I cheating?

[Maximodad]

I’m nearly there. Week 9 and Run 2 done yesterday. But a 3 day gap since Run 1. I find 48 hours is just not enough time to recover. I feel blitzed after 30 minutes jogging, even at my funeral pace. And I think I must have the record for the least distance covered in the history of C25K. Is it just age? Or the extra cargo I’m carrying? (at a guess about 20 pounds minimum). Do I still qualify if I wait till tomorrow - or even Saturday?

[Oldgirlruns Graduate]

No you’re not cheating Maximodad - if you need extra days between runs, take them! I nearly always had 2 days between my runs, especially when they started to get longer, and I still do. If you try and push it you’ll either injure yourself or it will become a chore and not enjoyable - neither of which you want! And don’t worry too much about how far you go - I was only getting to about 2.8k at graduation and most people don’t get to 5k in the 30 minutes! Happy running!

[RedIrishRunner]

Definitely not cheating!!! Take as many days as you need to recover, and run at whatever pace. The weeks aren't actually meant to be stringently adhered to in that sense!

[Maximodad Graduate in reply to RedIrishRunner]

Good to know RedIrish. I had a week off after week 7 anyway to have my cataract operation. And I took 2 weeks to get past week 4.

[nowster Graduate]

There's no distance, speed or frequency requirement to the runs. The only qualification is to have run for 30mins three times on different days. It doesn't matter if your next run is two weeks from now.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

According to Section 7 ("Rules for Graduation"), Rule 12, Clause b.2, found on page 83 of "The Official HealthUnlocked.co.uk C25K Handbook" (published 2011), I regret to inform you that running W9R3 any later than TODAY will invalidate your graduation and that you need to start C25K again.

Think of it like picking up the 'Go to Jail' card in Monopoly. Do NOT pass 'GO'. Do NOT pick up £200.

W1R1 for you on Monday - and yes, we'll grant you the weekend off.

We're nice like that.

[acountrycabbage Graduate in reply to John_W]

🤣

[Maximodad Graduate in reply to John_W]

Crikes, you had me worried there John-W. Was that a tongue in cheek I detected? Or are you open to bribes?

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Maximodad]

We should take this offline.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to Maximodad]

I will overrule John on this one.............or you can bribe him, if you want to.

Make it work for you.

You are doing great.

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to John_W]

What ?

ALL weekend off !!!

HAHA 😂😂😂

[Dorian1 Graduate in reply to John_W]

it would only be funnier if the publishing date was more anachonistic, 1952. it adds a stuffiness to it.

[Couchphoenix Graduate]

Funeral pace made me laugh 😂, take as many rest days as you need, it’s not a race Maximodad, you’ll enjoy your graduation run all the more if your good and rested. Don’t worry about distance it’s more about stamina, you can easily aim to increase your distance when you’ve graduated, setting yourself your own goals 👍🏃‍♂️

[Blackberrypie Graduate]

Definitely listen to your body - muscle building/repair time is a vital part of the training! I also found I needed to take a bit more time between runs towards the end of the programme - you're covering a lot more distance than in early days.

[Maximodad Graduate]

Thanks all. I see I'm not alone on this. Weather check says tomorrow best day for it - cool but dry. Watch this space!