Week 5 Run 3 is completed, the end is in sight!!

[piggyland1]

Wowee guys! I did it, I actually did it! it wasn't even that hard, I actually feel like I could have done 25 minutes of running! I'll take you through how I was feeling throughout the 20 minutes:

0-5 minutes = nice and easy jogging, concerned about my speed though as my dad who runs with me (on week 3) is a bit ahead of me, so maybe I need to speed up? I try and keep my speed steady as I run up devil hill, although I'm starting to get a little tired. I reach the 5 min mark as I am starting to go downhill (thank the lord!)

5-10 minutes = To forget about my tiredness I start imagining my crush is running with me and wants me to keep going (sad I know, but it distracted me!) and also planning what I am going to write in this blog post ONCE I have completed the 20 mins. I am starting to get into the swing of it now, and really believing I can do this.

10-15 minutes = I'm starting to get stitch, oh no! Keep going Olivia, you can do it, just picture your crush, keep going! I'm thinking about my running technique and breathing to distract myself.

15-18 minutes = Only 5 minutes to go, forget about your stitch, just keep going! At this point I'm just focused on finishing it off, and I can't believe I'm actually going to be able to do this!

18-20 minutes = As soon as Laura tells me I have 2 minutes left, I decide to count down the 2 minutes to distract myself. Turns out my counting is not so great, as Laura tells me to stop running even though I still have 40 seconds of running left to do in my mind. Because of this, it almost doesn't seem real. I have ran for 20 minutes!

Cool down = My speed obviously increased as I have no idea where my dad is! I travelled 1.9 miles / 3.06 km in the 20 mins, which means that if I ran 5k at the same pace, it should only take 32 mins! Wow, I really can't believe it!

Is it just me, or does W6R1, seem like a step in a backwards direction? Should I skip it or do it?

Thanks for reading my blog, hope you all have had great runs

I wrote a blog post on advice for people doing the run soon: couchto5k.healthunlocked.co...

~ Olivia

[helenf28]

Well done. I'm doing W5R3 later in the week - it's great to hear about other people's success!

Hope you found your Dad!

[piggyland1 Graduate in reply to helenf28]

Ah good luck! I wrote a blog post with advice for people doing W5R3, so you can check that out if you want to! But at the end of the day, your body can definitely do it, it's just a mind over matter thing!

And yes I did eventually haha!!

[Twedders Graduate]

I just finished week5 run 3 this morning and found it similar to you, simple and manageable. I did keep a steady pace and tried to keep slower than usual to ensure I did the entire 20minutes. I got my fastest km too, but I include my warm up in my timing and distance covered to avoid faffing about with my iPhone mid run.

I'm trying to keep an open mind about week 6 as a lot of folk have blogged that they fell into the trap of finding the 20 mins easy but struggled returning to interval training.

Also, it's really hard not to get too focused on time N speed. I'm keen to hit the 30 minute 5km target

Good luck next week.

[piggyland1 Graduate in reply to Twedders]

Good to know I have a running buddy who is at the same place in the plan as me!

Let's attempt the week 6 runs then, but keep in mind that they are difficult! Maybe I need to remind myself that although running 20 minutes is a great achievement, it doesn't mean I can do everything haha!

Good luck to you as well!

[Twedders Graduate in reply to piggyland1]

I plan to try w6r1 on weds pm. Lets see how it goes, I plan to get a good playlist ready and give it my all. Good luck, looking forward to seeing how you do too x

[piggyland1 Graduate in reply to Twedders]

here's my blog post on my experience on W6R1: couchto5k.healthunlocked.co...

Let me know how you get on!

[con-brio Graduate]

Lovely blog, showing just how important the mind is, not just the body. Love the bit about the crush. Well done, piggyland.

Do not be tempted to skip week 6 run 1, though! It's there for a reason... you've only run non-stop this once. You still need the intervals to help build up your stamina and overall fitness. If you read some past W6R1 blogs, you'll see that it's not always the easy option it appears to be.

[piggyland1 Graduate in reply to con-brio]

Haha, picturing him there really did help me so as sad as it sounded, I felt I had to put in the blog!

Yes I have decided to W6R1, but I don't think I'm going to read any blog posts till after I have run it, or I might just freak myself out!

How is your S&F going then?

[caz1_ca Graduate]

Well done Piggyland. Doing the 20 minute run is a huge achievement but don't be fooled into thinking you can now skip runs, they are all there fora reason just like Con-brio says. Just keep following the programme.

Good luck with week6.

[piggyland1 Graduate in reply to caz1_ca]

Thank you! I'm getting a little ahead of myself me thinks! Hopefully I will conquer week 6! I can't wait to be able to run 5K!

[caz1_ca Graduate in reply to piggyland1]

You and me both.

[SBG356 Graduate]

Very well done Olivia, a nice blog! It's lovely you are running with your dad, even if you did lose him Yes you need to follow the program so don't skip week 6; it is all helping you build up to running for 30 mins so don't doubt it. Just take it slow and steady though as many get fooled into thinking it must be easy after the 20 mins : O

Happy running!

Sue

[piggyland1 Graduate in reply to SBG356]

Thanks Sue! Don't worry, I have decided to do week 6, and I start tomorrow, wish me luck! Hope you have a good run too!

[SBG356 Graduate]

Wishing you loads of luck but you will be fine I'm sure! I will be running too so will be sending good vibes your way!

Sx

[greenlegs Graduate]

Well done, and enjoy week 6! That was a very entertaining blog. I could really imagine what it was like for you. Glad you found your dad again!