Week 7 struggles

Hi all, this is a first post for me, but have been reading and inspired by everyone’s journeys they’ve shared! Ive managed to get to week 7 of C25k, and at the age of 40 and been a gym avoider till now have been pleased with my progress and trust the programme.

However I’ve not managed this week!

Week 6 went well and managed the 25 minute run ok in the morning before work.

I attempted week 7 run 1 on Friday morning and had to have a 3 minute walking break at about 18 minutes as my legs just felt like lead but managed a jog for the end.

I tried another 25 minute run today and managed 20 minutes before I had to give in and start walking. I had run out of breath and my legs were heavy and although I felt quite positive my body just wouldn’t continue!

Any suggestions how to continue? My normal route has a few gentle hills and I usually go first thing in the morning. I also jog REALLY slowly (fast walk/12 minute mile speed) Possibilities I thought of are:

-finding a flatter route until I graduate.

- starting back at beginning of week 6

- keep attempting week 7 run 1 until I manage

Any suggestions very welcome 😊

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Hello and welcome to the forum and congratulations on completing week 6 .

You gave 2 big clues in your post as to the possible problems.

1 you said you ran out of breath ..... Then Slow down even more , can you speak full sentences while running without gasping for breath ? If not then it's simply too fast

2. You said your legs feel like lead !

This is a sign of dehydration !

As a runner you should aim to be drinking 2.5 to 3 litres of water a day , even on non run days .

Take a couple of days rest , get hydrated and then run slower ,

You can do this !

🙂👍

[Hidden in reply to Instructor57]

Thank you, will keep an eye on what I’m drinking, I tend to drink lots of tea when I’m at home but only manage one drink at work sometimes on my lunch break (work in a hospital) that seems like a lot of water so I’m probably not drinking nearly enough!

[Instructor57 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Heavy legs is a classic symptom, and yes it's a lot of water , but as a runner you need it ! (Even on rest days)

And remember the pace !

It's what's known as a conversational pace which will put you around 75% of your maximum heart rate 👍

[Cmoi Graduate]

Honestly, 12 minute/mile is really NOT really slow! And even if it were, who cares?

As Instructor57 has already said, if you're out of breath then you do need to slow down. I also agree re hydration, I know that makes a huge difference for me.

[Hidden in reply to Cmoi]

Thanks cmoi. Going to really up my fluid intake for the next couple of days and see if it is indeed possible to run any slower next run day on Wednesday or Thursday.

[healthy-laughter Graduate]

Hi I only graduated yesterday and as a previous exercisephob I found the runs from 7 onwards a challenge. No more intervals to give you that perceived break but you can do this. Take 2 days between runs if your body needs extra recovery time and as said by the real experts speed and hydration are key. My graduation run was nowhere near a 12 min mile, more like 14-15. Slow down. If you listen to music a sing along pace. Also up your water intake. I'm up to at least 2 litres a day now (not including tea or other drinks) This is still not enough but I'm upping slowly and if I go out in the morning I drink 500 ml before I leave the house. Good luck 🤞

[Hidden in reply to healthy-laughter]

Thanks Healthy-laughter, I like the idea of a singalong pace, as long as I don’t sing along out loud!

Ok, I’ll give myself until Thursday for my next run and see if I can drink loads until then and go very slooooooowly on run day.

Oh have just seen there’s a week 7 topic and others have found this week a challenge, looks like same advice applies!

Fingers crossed, will post an update.

[nowster Graduate]

12 minute/mile = 7.46 minute/km. That's not slow.

[Hidden in reply to nowster]

Thank you will slow it right down for next time.

[JetsNanna Graduate]

I am stunned that you think 12mins per mile is “really slow” - I must be jogging practically on the spot then cos the very best I’ve managed on a 30 minute run was 9mins20secs per km. Yep, nearly 10 mins to run 1 km! And I’m chuffed to bits with that 😂

Seems to me that you are possibly going too fast if the run you’ve done was a struggle. I’d say slow down and you’ll build stamina that will lead to pace rather than having the pace without the stamina to keep running. Even as I am reading that it sounds a bit garbled but I’m not sure how else to word it.

Additionally, you say that you “HAD to jog” - jogging is what the program is based on. You’ll see references to Japanese Slow Jogging all over the forum. Jogging will get you to the end of the program whereas running may lead to injury or disappointment if you are going at a pace that you can’t sustain.

Try Week 7 Run 1 again but really slow it down and see how you get on. Best of luck 😊😊

[Hidden in reply to JetsNanna]

Thank you, that makes sense about building stamina. Two ladies walked past me today when I was jogging 😆 and that’s not the first time so that’s why I thought I was so slow. Right, plan is slow it right down next time. Feel like I’ve come so far and grateful for advice from everyone that’s been there before 😊

[Moominette Graduate]

I want to encourage you - I’m the same age as you and hadn’t done much in the way of aerobic exercise in the past few years but graduated a couple of months ago and am now enjoying a slow build up to 10k.

I sailed through weeks 1-6 but found weeks 7 and 8 really challenging. I really had to change my thinking in the end: Instead of seeing the runs as individual challenges to be got through in order to get to the end of the programme, I had to think about my end goal, which was to form a habit of going for a 30 min run, 3x a week. By the time I got to week 8 r3, I realised that I was pretty much doing that anyway so I stopped thinking of myself as on a programme that I had to get through and started just thinking of myself as a runner, who on run days, just went out for a run, no big deal. For me, it suddenly seemed easier after that and my graduation run crept up on me, came and went and I just carried on run ing 3x a week after, like I’d wanted to be doing. It’s a strange psychology perhaps but it really worked for me, as I stopped craving those walking intervals and stopped desperately trying to reach graduation run, which after all, is only just another run in the life of a runner

Good luck anyway - I hope you find a way through that works for you

[Hidden in reply to Moominette]

Thank you for your reply moominette, a postive way of thinking of things and good to hear what works for others