W8R1 - 30:30!

[mdec]

Well why not? 28 minutes is hardly any different than 30, right? For that matter when you remember 1 minute being a struggle, surely there's hardly any difference between 20 minutes and 30?

It turns out that that 2:30 was quite a struggle. I don't know if it was just the psychological impact of running after I had been told I could stop or whether the program is very cleverly designed to push you only to the edge of your ability and no further. I suspect the latter. Always trust the program! It seems to be cleverer than me, at least.

Still, I was pleasantly surprised to find that after that exhausting 30:30 I was only about as tired as I remember being after Week 1. That's a huge improvement! Less than 2 weeks and I should be a graduate at last

It also ticks off the first goal I set for myself - to run for 30 minutes - and puts me on track to finish my second, running 5k in 30 minutes. Since week 2 I've consciously decided not to measure the distance of my runs, but once I graduate I think I will go for a measured 5k and see how long it takes.

[greenlegs Graduate]

Well done for reaching your first target - very satisfying!

(I was a bit dense, and it took me a while to figure out what the 2:30 was - now it's obvious it's the extra 2 and a half minutes that you added beyond the week 8's 28 minutes.)

I was surprised how much harder those last few minutes were - I think it's because the progress made from week 5 to week 8 is really pretty rapid, and your body is still doing some catching up?

[oona Graduate]

What a great time, mdec! I graduated Oct/Nov and am still working hard to get to 5k in 30 mins. I'm down to 32 ish using the 5k+ podcasts. Best wishes.

[gingernut49 Graduate]

This might sound an absolutely dense question, but does the 5K include the ten minutes of warm up and warm down walks? I start my Runtastic app when I leave my front door and I'm up to 4.63 kilometres now on week eight.

[mdec Graduate in reply to gingernut49]

No, the 5 minutes before and after are additional.

At least in Robert Ullery's podcasts that I have been using. The NHS ones that most people seem to use may be different. Personally I wouldn't advise running for 5k without a warm up and cool down.

[gingernut49 Graduate]

I use the NHS podcasts which have the 5 minute warm up and cool down walks which are obviously essential. I don't want to have to faff around with my phone when I start running so I'll just have to concentrate on the 30 minutes' running rather than the distance covered.

[ajf10 Graduate in reply to gingernut49]

Hi gingernut - I am using the rundoublepro app - you can still listen to Laura (or your own music) and also it will give you stats for your intervals. You'll get your distance and pace for your run as well as the walking bits before and after.

[gingernut49 Graduate]

Thank you ajf10 for the recommendation - I've downloaded it and will look forward to trying it out!