Hi, i have just finished 5.2, but i don't know if im ready to go on to 5.3 as i found it quite tough to finish today.
is it better to try 5.3 on wednesday and fail, then hopefully complete it on friday or to do 5.2 again and then do 5.3 for the first time on friday?
i would say attempt 5.3! this programme is all about pushing yourself, and if you get to eight minutes in and feel like you might die (although i think i felt like that all the way through 5.3 myself...) you can always stop for a few minutes, do another eight minutes and then attempt 20 mins again next time. nothing beats the feeling, though, of finishing 20 minutes having thought that you absolutely weren't going to be able to when you first set off 
I'd say go for run 3 too and see how you go. I can honestly say the thought of it is worse than the reality. Start of slow and steady as it's all about doing the time, dont' worry about distance...if you've got energy left towards the end you can speed up. Good luck & let us know how you get on.
I would go for it too. I found week 5 run 1 really hard and felt like I really struggled, so I repeated it and did find it a lot easier, to the extent that I felt like I could have actually moved on to run 2. I think I just didn't have the confidence. I also think I was trying to postpone getting to week 5 run 3, because this 20 minute run was something I dreaded throughout the programme and just didn't think I could do it. It was a huge mental barrier for me, and I just felt that the leap from 8 minutes to 20 minutes was massive. I didn't feel like I could do it on my normal run day, so put it off, but felt a lot more positive the day after, so decided to give it a go. I just took it really steady and I did manage it, and felt so good about it. I felt like I could do anything after that. I have just got back from week 8 run 1 and it is still going well. I do think about giving up during runs, but I just force myself to keep going, because I know from week 5 run 3 that I can do it, even if part of me thinks I can't!
Go for it! I did 5.2 this morning so am up for 5.3 on Wednesday too so we can check we both survived on wednesday evening.
Seriously go for it. Make sure you pace yourself, if you're worried, trying running at a slower pace than usual. You will be able to do it. As someone pointed out to me when I was worrying about it, you've already ran 16mins in the previous one! 4mins is nothing when you think about it - the length of your favourite song! Have a go I'm sure you will be able to complete it. Remember to keep a steady pace and breathe, just concentrate on putting one foot infront of the other.
Good luck xxx
Cheers for all the advice, i am going for it - now i feel like its gonna be a really tough one, but i dont doubt my ability to do it, so even if i end up crawling ill finish it.
Made a playlist with some nice slow songs to ease me into it and some really motivating heavy songs at the end to help me push through so im kind of looking forward to it in a weird way. I'll post back tomorrow after the run to tell you all how i did
Look forward to reading how you got on
Just replying to say i found it to be no where near as bad as i thought. i only managed 1.8 miles but i felt like i had plenty left to go faster, so next time i do it (tomorrow) im gonna try to go faster.
ONE. MORE. RUN. TO. GO!!!!!🥳🥳🎓
Where to go from here... advice please!
Can you go too slow?
How many weeks did it take you to do C25K?
W9R2 - only one more to go
