W4 R2 ✅

[Newbierunner96]

I could easily talk about how today's run was horrific and how I'm sure that week 4 is the best I can achieve but as I did my cool down I decided to reframe it and think back on all the things that were good about today's run. 1. I completed a 5k route today and whilst it was tough I know that actually I must have run pretty fast - I can definitely go slower and ace the longer stints!

2. Although I got lost (again!!) I found my way back pretty easily and I wasn't quite so far from the route as last time!

3. I saw lots of people just going about their day and looking truly happy! As I'm on maternity leave I don't see as many people as I used to and it was great to distract myself by thinking about others - a child holding their grown ups hand on the way to the park eagerly chatting about their day, a group of teenagers laughing together as they walked home from school.. just the little things 😊

So, although at one point I felt like I was soo far from home and wanted to ring my husband to pick me up, I plodded along and kept going and I made it back (within the 31 mins and 30 seconds!) Isn't that a good moral philosophy: Sometimes even when home seems miles away, you haven't got as far to go as you think!

[Sulley101 Graduate]

I love how you reframed the run to focus on all the positives. And you did complete the run, which is a positive in itself, and even if it was maybe harder than anticipated, you did it. Keep up the good work! 😁

[Cmoi Graduate]

Reframing to focus on the positives is great, and will definitely help you complete C25K!

That said, if I've read your post right and you covered 5km in 31 minutes 30 seconds doing W4 R2 walk-run intervals, it would be a good idea to slow down. You don't need to run 5k to graduate, it's three 30-minute runs, normally within about a week, that count. Pushing yourself to run fast is neither necessary nor advisable, and might end in injury. A comfortable conversational pace will do the trick, as it helps build stamina.

I'm guessing from your username and reference to maternity leave that you're less than half my age, so you've got decades of running ahead of you - plenty of time to speed up then if you want. 😀

Happy running!

[Newbierunner96 in reply to Cmoi]

Thanks for your reply! Yes I'm definitely going to slow down next time. It's not that I've been trying to run really fast but I think I tend to speed up when I panic that I've got lost and am looking for my next landmark haha! Hopefully I'll find a more comfortable pace on my third run for this week ready to take on the longer ones next week 😊

[Cmoi Graduate in reply to Newbierunner96]

You're welcome! It's always tempting to speed up, and learning to stick with a slower pace can sometimes be more challenging that people might think. It really does pay off in the long term though, and it would be such a shame if you got injured through overdoing it.

This post from the much-missed Tim explains a lot more, if you're interested: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...