It's all gone belly up...: I was doing so well... - Couch to 5K

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It's all gone belly up...

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I was doing so well, and now a horrible cold has ruined it all. I've not run for a week now, put on three pounds and still feel dreadful. The only good news is that I want to run, but I really think I might pass out if I try now. Would it be a good idea to rewind a little, maybe do a few runs with walking intervals before trying for week 8? Because by the time this cold is done, I probably won't have run for almost two weeks. :(

How to feel like a failure!

6 Replies
Biscuit0107 profile image
Biscuit0107Graduate

Hi Hidden i hope you feel better soon. It's not a good idea to run when you're feeling rotten. It might be an idea to repeat a run or two when you're back, see how you feel and trust your body 🙂

GoogleMe profile image
GoogleMeGraduate

I don't think there's any useful information to be gained from not carrying on where you left off (as soon as you are well enough to be running at all) - the next run you do is going to feel a little tentative whatever session you choose and it is really not a big deal if you start with Week 8 and need to stop running before the end - it's actually not a bad thing to experience a run that doesn't go to plan as it teaches you not to doombomb and read too much into it. If you were to try an earlier week and need to stop running before the end that wouldn't be any more useful information, and possibly more demoralising.

I arrived on this forum with the same query and people said "Carry on where you left off" and I was tremendously grateful.

It is surprising though that often people find their fitness hasn't disappeared as fast as they expected. They take it really, really gently and sometimes almost seem to have benefitted from the break.

Your cold hasn't 'ruined it all' and you are not a failure. Don't underestimate the way colds and other infections can mess with your mind as much as with physical fitness.

Oldfloss profile image
OldflossAdministratorGraduate

Feel better, then carry on... slow and steady. You will find as GoogleMe says, that you will be fine:) Your fitness levels don't disappear that quickly :)

Grumpygoddess profile image
GrumpygoddessGraduate

A similar thing happened to me. I went back to the week 6 run where you run 10, walk 3, run 10. Just did it once, to make sure I had my confidence back, then went back to where I had left off. Also a good way to check you are recovered. If not, no problem, wait a couple days then try again.

SlowWorm2016 profile image
SlowWorm2016Graduate

You are not a failure! I have had two horrendous colds this year and didn't run for nearly six weeks. So my confidence was at a low point, but I went out on Thursday morning and ran week 3 of c25k just to see how I would feel. It was absolutely fine. Be kind to yourself, maybe try week 8 and if it's too hard, do it again but slower. You won't have lost a lot of fitness. Good luck :) .

Funnyrunner profile image
FunnyrunnerGraduate

I'm also struggling with a cold and vitamin D deficiency (plus symptoms) and haven't run for a week. I can't face running this week and, like you, feel guilty. But I think we need to be kind to ourselves! If your body is too tired to run, let it rest. You'll be back again soon, and feeling better for taking it easy.

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