Re-doing a week

[Dotty01]

Do you think it's ok to repeat a week.I completed week 4 and it almost killed me 🤒 So I don't think I'm ready for week 5,I had a sneaky look at it and thought..No way!! So going to do the week again.. is this a good idea?

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate]

Hi Dotty01 , firstly, well done on getting to week four...now then, you sound just like I did...and then I found this forum...I was stuck on week 4 too and I had repeated it over and over again..and it was like I just needed someone to tell me that's its ok...yes, you can repeat weeks, just because it's a 9 week programme doesn't mean that it has to take that time..some people just need a little longer and it's not your fitness or anything you're doing wrong, mostly you know, it's just confidence. Going from week 4 to week five means that 2 of your runs are another couple of minutes longer so if you don't feel up to that, rather than end the run early and feel disappointed because you haven't managed it, I would maybe do the 3rd run a couple more times...then move on to week 5...remember to take your runs as slow as you can...slower than slow, these are your runs and you want to enjoy them, remember to breathe deeply, whether that's through your nose or, like me, your mouth. and make sure you have some good music in your ears...or listen to the radio..good luck and let us know how you get on x

[Hidden]

I think That’s a great idea. You’ve got to trust your own body and instincts. Only you know how you feel and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with repeating. Redo the week, get stronger and then move on.

[Sook2 Graduate]

Absolutely, it’s your programme and you can and should take it at your own pace!

[Seaside22 Graduate]

On the other hand... you may surprise yourself, in a good way, if you just go with the plan, so I don't think there's an obvious answer.

Sometimes it can make sense not to look at the run ahead and just try to do what your coach tells you. I guess it's a kind of psychological trick you play on yourself.

But as others have said, absolutely nothing wrong with repeating weeks - loads of people have found that works for them.

[BaggyShorts]

Dotty I’m so glad you posted this. I was really nervous about moving from week 4 to week 5 too. I actually completed W5R1 on Friday, but was not feeling ready to step up from 5 minutes running to 8 minutes running this morning, so I repeated W5R1. Reading lots of graduates comments, it sounds like many people do choose to repeat weeks. The great thing with C25K is that you can flex it to suit your personal circumstances. I guess the main thing is to keep at it and not return to the couch! Good luck with your next run. Let me know how you get on xx

[Buddy34 Graduate]

You can repeat any run or week it's totally your decision. But you may suprise yourself by moving in to wk5 . All the runs up until now have prepared you for it. Well done you 😊

[GoogleMe Graduate]

You can do what you like, if your aims are the same as the programme's, there's no rush to get to the end and every run builds a habit. But the programme is put together to work and thousands, including those starting from a very low or compromised level, have found it does.

I've been on this forum since 2012...admittedly I don't read every post these days but I don't think I have ever heard anyone do their next run having completed (with however much difficulty) the previous session and regret it (unless they hadn't taken the prescribed rest day or were carrying an injury or a bug) One of the things we have to learn as part of the programme is that some runs will feel very hard, some runs we may not achieve what we set out to achieve, and it may not 'mean' anything at all... other than that we had the guts to try.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

There is nothing wrong with repeating a week and every run makes you stronger, but think about exactly why you are repeating a week.

This might make you think differently about it healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

You can do this, if you believe you can.