Hi does anyone have any advice. Have been doing really well until I got to the dreaded 20 min run in wk 5. Didn't manage it so went back to day 2 , have now done that 3 times and can't seem to get past it. Can anyone help please?
Can't get past week 5 day 2: Hi does anyone have... - Couch to 5K
Can't get past week 5 day 2
What is it that stops you? Leg soreness or feel really out of breath? few poss- one is mental attitude, my husband will come with me and just jog by my side when im struggling and it keeps me going. It could be that you are running too quick. It may be worth just changing the music, set your stop watch and covering it over so you cant see it and focus on the surroundings, music etc so that you are not constantly watching for the magic 20mins. If youve run so far I would say its just the mentality to get over. Go and show that 20min run whos boss
Ah thank you. Sometimes it's legs giving up and sometimes it breathing. Will try again though. Never managed to get this far before so am really pleased just want to do that 20 mins.
Both legs and breathing could mean you're running too fast, you should be at speed of comfortable chat- several word answers, if you can just answer with yes or no you are probably running too quick. A heart rate monitor would tell you as well if you were running too hard so may be useful looking at one of those. I used to just tell myself, just do 15mins of the run, you can always stop then, then when I got there I would be like 'only 5 mins left, be a shame to stop it'. I've been running over a year now and up to 6-7k, baby steps my friend, baby steps. You're putting the 20min run on a giant pedestal and over pressuring yourself whilst you've likely got the necessary fitness to crack it anyway! Good luck