Stridingedge says ta! and how did folk find W4? ( other than after W3 and before W5!)

[stridingedge]

Thankyou to all of you who replied to my question about whether using a treamill is cheating. Your responses have been very reassuring. When I think about it, even if it had been considered cheating the main thing is that I did get off the couch and started running. The fact that I can now run 3 minutes is an achievement in itself however I do it!

W4 looks scary. Have you any advice on how I might enjoy it?

Best wishes to you all on your journey.

[sfb350 Graduate]

Don't be scared of W4 ! You've learnt a lot about pacing yourself over the past three weeks so just start off a little slower than in week 3 so you conserve your energy for the rest of the run. You can always speed up later if you feel able.

I used to make it more interesting on the treadmill by playing around with the speed a little, on both the running bits and the walking bits.

Good luck !

[stridingedge Graduate in reply to sfb350]

I took your advice and managed the first run. Thank you

[sfb350 Graduate in reply to stridingedge]

Well done !

[BettyJane Graduate]

I'm on week 4, I did the 1st run on Saturday and the second on Monday, Although I found the second run easier, my knees were protesting on the stairs when I got home, so I'm having a 2 day rest and will run the 3rd session tomorrow. On Saturday I found the thought of running for 5 mins a bit daunting, but I did it and felt great. When "Laura" says there's one more minute to go, at first I thought "Oh no, another minute", but then I thought *Yes I can do this"

[stridingedge Graduate in reply to BettyJane]

I know exactly what you mean. It was a long minute!

[virtualrunner Graduate]

I am on my second week of "week" 4 - and only just got through the whole of the final 5 minute run- so my main bit of advice is don't worry if that first time you go slower than usual, you'll get to the end much more easily - and feel really proud when you manage it - because you will!

[stridingedge Graduate in reply to virtualrunner]

I did go slower, but it worked. Thanks

[Legion Graduate]

I think week 4 was the first week when I didn't quite complete a run (W4,R2, iirc). I had an extra walking break, before finishing the rest of the run. I then went on to complete the next run, and the next, and the next... Today (W6,R3) I ran non-stop for just 90 seconds short of 25 minutes.

You are getting to the point where I found that the mental challenge is greater than the physical one. Your body CAN do it, but you have to fight the gremlins that keep saying you can't. It looks scary, but don't talk yourself out of it. You really can do this, and in a couple of week's time you will wonder what you were scared of.

[stridingedge Graduate in reply to Legion]

I did it! You're dead right about the mental challenge. I think it's definately as tough as the physical aspect of this programme. Thaanks for the encouragement.

[Legion Graduate in reply to stridingedge]

That's brilliant, well done. Enjoy your rest now and let your body recover and repair for the next run.