W4 R3 done, and feeling good!!

[saffronhalifax]

I had an extra rest day after W4 R2 after a foot injury (I have flat feet and don't really have the right shoes, but don't really want to splash out until I've seen the podiatrist next week) caused pain in my whole leg, and wanted to make sure this had sorted itself out before I went out.

I had resigned myself to having to repeat some of W4, as in the rest of the week, I've had to walk for 10-30secs in the middle of the first 5 minute run due to a stitch, or my lungs feeling like they were going to burst. My problem is that I live in the middle of the Pennines, so although I'm on the flattest road I can find, the first half of my run is still uphill, and I can really feel the difference. My first 5 min run this week has coincided with the steepest of the sections (it's not actually that steep, but feels it while running!!), and so I've really struggled with it, although I can do it with comparative ease for the last 5 minutes which is on the flat.

Today felt easier for some reason though - I know I must have reduced the pace slightly on that section, as I didn't go quite as far as my last run, during which I'd walked (fast) for 30 seconds to get rid of a stitch, and although it wasn't much, that and my stamina must have increased, as I didn't stop once! A real achievement.

I was feeling so good about this that, when the workout ended, I carried on running throughout the cool down, just to see how far I could do when not under pressure, and when on the flat. I was really pleasantly surprised when, 5 minutes later, I was still running and had made it home! (Although I did have to walk back for a couple of minutes to actually cool down). This had meant that I had run for 10 minutes without stopping for the first time I can remember! I know I probably shouldn't have done it, but I feel fine now, and it's given me so much more confidence about Week 5 so I don't regret it

I'm now in two minds what to do; I'm going to do W5 R1 on the same route that I'm doing now, but I don't know whether to get a lift to further up the road for the rest of the week, so I don't burn myself going uphill for the first half of the 8 mins/20 mins. Or, should I carry on with the same route and hope that my stamina increases so that I can cope with the hill? Argh, dilemma!

I'm really happy though, because MapMyRun tells me I'm covering 4km each time (I walk for about 4 mins further at the beginning to get out of the steepest hill) at an average pace of 8min/km, which means that if I can keep it up (or at least build up to it when I'm running longer distances), I should cover 5km in just over 40 minutes, which I'd be incredibly happy with! Got over 5 weeks till I get to that point though; in the meantime, bring on Week5!!

[Nevertoolate Graduate]

I'm only a beginner (just done w2r3) but I started out by choosing a hilly run. Yesterday I ran on the flat and it was much easier. I try to time the run and walk parts so that I run on the flat - I can do this by walking on the hilly bits backwards and forwards until the run restarts and then I know I'm going to run on the flat. Could this work for you? I know eventually we'll be running all the time, but we'll be fitter by then.