How slow is slow enough? : I recently crashed... - Couch to 5K

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How slow is slow enough?

Captain-Slow-54 profile image
β€’13 Replies

I recently crashed and burned on the 8 minute section of W6 R1. I was truly gutted after completing the gruelling W5 R3.

I posted here and got lots of good replies, basically advising me to go slower.

This posed the question, how slow should I be running?

For me, who has run alone since day one, knowing what is slow enough is very difficult to judge.

So this amazing video was posted in a reply....

youtu.be/9L2b2khySLE

And, VOILA! THAT'S how slow I can go.

This morning I re-run W6R1, not quite as slow as the video but significantly slower than I had been running and smashed it. It wasn't easy, by long way, but it was much easier than I had been pushing myself.

I have, since day one, been running far too fast and too hard. Makes my W5r3 even more impressive and explains my rather 'vocal' last 5 minutes.

I'm back on track and happy.

W6 will be restarted on Monday morning.

Have a great weekend all. πŸ‘

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Captain-Slow-54 profile image
Captain-Slow-54
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13 Replies
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Oldgirlruns profile image
OldgirlrunsGraduate

I’m so glad you’ve found your happy slow C-S54! I run on my own as well and it is quite hard to judge sometimes. But you should be able to manage to speak as you run. In my case at the beginning I was lucky if I managed a gasped one word occasionally but now I can just about manage a sentence and have a bit of a chat if I’m running with a friend! And yes I’m still running really slowly!

Buddhagal profile image
BuddhagalGraduate

Fantastic news, really pleased for you. That video had helped lots and lots of us; it's a winner.....and so are YOU😁😁.πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ’ͺπŸƒβ€β™€οΈπŸ™‹

JetsNanna profile image
JetsNannaGraduate

Congratulations - none of us listen the first few times we hear β€œ slow right down” but your post demonstrates that it works and makes the program feel achievable and less like punishment. Good luck in the weeks to come - I’ll be looking out for that glorious graduation post. πŸ˜ŠπŸ˜‰

Jools2020 profile image
Jools2020Graduate

Yes!! Like many others before you, you’ve found β€˜slow’! πŸ˜€πŸ‘

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor

Say this sentence out loud to yourself "Am I going slow enough to enable me to speak this sentence in one out breath?" If you cannot, you are going too fast.

Birdlady64 profile image
Birdlady64Graduate

Brilliant! I'm glad it worked for you!

Rennur profile image
RennurGraduate

At last you are living up to your name!Great stuff.

RacingintheStreet profile image
RacingintheStreetGraduate

Well done πŸ‘Œ I still struggle with setting off too fast ( not fast like in the real world though πŸ˜‚πŸ’πŸŒ)

I have to concentrate hard and keep it steady if I want to progress with distance etc.

It’s the difference between a great run and a horrid run for me .

Just stay focused and enjoy πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈ

Captain-Slow-54 profile image
Captain-Slow-54

Thanks everyone. Bring on W6.Have a good weekend πŸ‘

GailXrunning profile image
GailXrunningGraduate

Yep. THAT video. Game-changer, isn’t it? One of the key things that made running β€˜possible’ and also enjoyable. Best wishes for the next week.

Roxdog profile image
RoxdogGraduate

You've got it!

Peter44 profile image
Peter44Graduate

I echo what alot have said, that slow running video, completely changed things for me, and made runs, much more manageable, and actualy enjoyable! πŸ˜€Good luck with the rest of the programme, just remember 🐌🐌🐌

Tasha99 profile image
Tasha99Graduate

Run 1 week 6 is infamous.

Slow running is the way forward. It’s actually much better for you, and weirdly you can get faster this way.

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