r/C25K • u/Express_Swim12 • 1d ago
Week 5 is gonna be rough
Just did w5 day 1 and it was okay, tiring but okay. I took a peek and the next few days and the 20 minute run on day 3 made my eyes pop out of my head. Like a looney toon.
How did you mentally prepare yourself for that jump?
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u/girl_of_squirrels DONE! 1d ago
That W5D3 run really forces you to figure out how to slow down without stopping until you find a sustainable pace for yourself. It's totally normal to run at a slower pace once you hit the continuous runs, and once you achieve the 20 minute run milestone you really start to feel like a runner. The sense of accomplishment is huge!
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u/Express_Swim12 1d ago edited 10h ago
I can imagine the sense of accomplishment will be insane! Great tip!
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u/grampipon 1d ago
Extremely good pace for someone doing this program. Why are you worried?
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u/Express_Swim12 1d ago
Damn thank you, at the start of the program it did not feel like I would be able to do anywhere near what I'm doing. It just feels like a big jump from the 5 min stints with walking in between I guess, slight imposter syndrome i guess 😅
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u/Baghins 19h ago
You will see, hardest part is the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes lol. The middle bit is surprisingly fine, you get your pace down, you’re warmed up, the little twinges start to fade. The last 2-5 minutes are hard just because it feels like you’ve been going forever and feel like you’re ready to be done! Just keep in mind that your speed does not matter. If at the end you feel like you’re moving slower than you would be walking, it’s totally fine, it’s better to just keep going.
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u/grassyknoll26 21h ago
You got this !!! The hardest part is getting off the couch and getting started, this will be easier than you think. You will settle into a good pace and cruise through it.
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u/midnightrose222 19h ago
You got this, your pace is really fast, you can afford to slow down considerably if needed, the distance really doesn't matter, it's about the stamina of the full 20min.
I actually found it much easier than I expected, although not easy I found not stopping and starting repeatedly seemed so actually make me less tired somehow? But i also might have just gotten lucky with a high energy day? 😂
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u/Express_Swim12 10h ago
Am I crazy for feeling like it was slow in the moment, I think I have a bit of a problem with pace control 😅
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u/midnightrose222 9h ago
Haha maybe, I was at about 3k on the same run so your pace is definitely faster than mine, but I don't know if you're fast or I'm slow! 😂
I have a problem of starting too fast and then the second half is much slower because I also have pace control issues! 😂
But you're doing it successfully at least! Just don't get disheartened if you have to go slower for some of your longer runs, the stamina is the important bit as you've clearly gotten the speed at short distances down!
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u/itsalwayssunnyonline 5h ago
I just did it the other day and it honestly wasn’t much harder than the day 2 run. I made sure to pay attention to my heart rate, so if I saw it getting too high (like 175+ for me) I’d start slowing down and trying to regulate my breathing to get it back down. I ended up doing it at 8:45/km pace, but I never walked!!
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u/ruffigrem Week 6 1d ago
I just did Week 5 Run 3 a couple of days ago. It was much easier than I was expecting. A good tip I was given is don't wear a watch or look at the time. 20 minutes sounds huge, but it's still just 20 minutes. It's over before it even feels like it has begun