Will Repeating W5D3 several times make the rest of the program easier?

[domalino]

This is a long intro so apologies in advance

Last time i started the program and went back to uni, i gave up pretty soon as i was embarrassed about the tiny intervals (i was on W3 & my housemates are all ridiculously sporty)

To stop this happening again i decided to repeat W5D3 several times to make sure im not intimidated by the first run i have to do back at uni, and so i can make sure im running a good pace (9min miles is the aim). Im hoping doing it 3 times before leaving home, and then for my first run back, ill be pretty confident and its a respectable distance so i wont be embarrassed.

huge intro to question over, what do you think the effect of repeating the run so many times will have on the rest of the program? will i breeze through week 6, maybe even find week 7 easy? what do you guys think? I mean i imagine if i can run

[Greg_M Graduate]

I shouldn't imagine it will have any effect other than making it more straightforward.

Running is really just about being out there and doing it and the more you do it the more you can do it. So I can't say if the word 'breeze' will come into it; but it could only, I would imagine, help. If nothing else if it gives you that bit more confidence then its worth doing even just for that reason.

What ever works for you in helping you keep it going is the right thing.

[AmandaW Graduate]

Difficult to say, but bear in mind that if you do Wk6 as suggested then by this end of the week you'll be up to 25 min runs and then its just long runs all the way anyway - there are no more intervals after the first 2 runs of W6, but maybe you'd prefer to do it that way so that you're running the longer times when you go back?

[Burstcouch Graduate]

I would move to week 6 as suggested by Amanda above, you will be confident enough to run longer distance by then.

Good luck

[bonnie68 Graduate]

I put my trust wholeheartedly into the programme and would say just go for week 6/7 and you will progress to longer/faster runs ! I always say to myself when out running that no one knows how far I have run if I am struggling/a beetroot face etc! Your fitness is yours personally and you are out there, unlike most of the student population in general I would imagine!!! (I certainly put on 3 stone at uni over 3 years, ouch!) You are running!

[Jenbie Graduate]

I would just go for week 6. I repeated week 5 run 1 because I really struggled with it and thought I wasn't ready to move forwards, but I realised that I still had energy left in the tank after the second time and that I could have progressed after all. I would try not to worry about your housemates. They should all be supporting and encouraging you, not making you feel bad. My younger brother is really fit and sporty but it was him who encouraged my husband and I to start running and has kept supporting us all the way through. A friend of mine recently put the following quote on her Facebook wall, which I think of a lot in terms of running: "You will never be great at something if you're not willing to be bad at it." Patricia Cornwell Good luck with it, and if your housemates say anything, remind them that everyone has to start somewhere - even them!