The FastDay Forum

I am due to start week 4 on Friday but see that it is a bit more running involved. Going to give it a go and see how I am. If I can't I shall repeatr week 3 but I am actually surprising myself on how well it's going.

Good luck with week 4 trust the programme I bet you will manage it.

Did run 1 of week 4 and am going back to week 3. I am not ready yet. Didn't managed either of the 5 minute runs.

Did you come close? I often struggled with the Day one of week, but by the end of the week I'd have it down. Of course, you have to do whatever you feel comfortable with! I find that a lot of it is just mental though, you kinda just have to push yourself and tell yourself you can do it!

Absolutely...close is often good enough to be beneficial.

The reason for these minute(s!?)increases is to strain your body a little each time so that it adapts to the longer runs. But it can be really frustrating to not meet a specified goal.

Part of the (unmentioned) methodology too is to break the habit most new runners have of running much too fast during their run cycles. If you're not flying you're not really running, right? This is not true at all. Exhaustion forces you to slow down to a maintainable pace.

There's nothing wrong with reducing the suggested time when you're body says it's had enough. That's why it's called "Listening to your body." and you did. Good job.

Some run days are easier than others, other days take a bit more effort.

Next time out try this:

Instead of pushing overly hard for those extra minutes on a day that seems harder than usual, go just 30 more seconds instead. If at the end of those 30, you feel able to just a _little_ bit more, run to the next easily recognizable object (a mail box, a light pole, a road sign...) 100 meters or so ahead, then go to a walk break. Congratulate yourself for that extra effort, you deserve it. Then repeat the cycle after the walk break. (See also the plank thread.)

To me, and especially as we get older, 2-3 minute increases in run time from the last run are way too much. As mentioned earlier in this thread, when you can't speak full sentences anymore it's generally time to slow down a bit, or take a walk break. Hope this helps.

I start C25K week2 day1 tomorrow! It has been an ambition of mine to give running a go for a while - my son is a competitive middle distance runner where as I would have trouble running for a bus! Week 1 has gone fine! Biggest hurdle was the fear of running in public, but that as it turned out was nothing to worry about! As an added incentive I have signed up for a Race for Life in July - doing it in my dad's memory and it's on his birthday - so fate me thinks! Looked through previous posts and it's been great encouragement! Thank you all x

Good for you tickatape! It's a great program and that 5K in July will be perfect motivation to keep you on track! Good luck!!

Thank you cblasz! Your posts inspire!

In the spirit of showing that it can be done, I ran all but 60 seconds of a local 5K today breaking an age-graded, personal best time that I set way-back in my mid-twenties. Got an unexpected third place age division trophy too!

Cool beans, @ADFnFuel! Congrats!

I did week 3 day 1 today. Three minutes straight was a challenge, but I think I rose to it well

But... has anyone else had the program do strange things? I'm running it on my iPhone, and when I started it today, it buzzed, then almost immediately buzzed again and told me to jog. I quit the workout, started again, and this time it told me to start my 5 minute warmup. But I still think it might have missed something along the way. It's hard for me to keep track, when I'm just focussed on following the prompts and running when told!

It's disappointing to me that it isn't reliable. Or is it my phone?

I did week 3 day 1 today. Three minutes straight was a challenge, but I think I rose to it well

But... has anyone else had the program do strange things? ... It's hard for me to keep track, when I'm just focussed on following the prompts and running when told!

It's disappointing to me that it isn't reliable. Or is it my phone?

Yay! Progress is always good.

May I suggest a potentially helpful modification for longer-runs? We all have a mental pace in mind that we believe is "running". It's generally much too fast the earlier one is in a training cycle. One thing I've found useful is to purposely run at a "~70% perceived rate" for both first-time longer distances and times; and especially during races - anything you've not done before. To do it right, it should feel too slow for what you'd normally think of as being your pace. By doing this you'll avoid the early run burn out of trying to meet the challenge as well as early first-timer race exuberance which can drain energy reserves much too early. You'll also experience the surprise of negative splits - having later miles (kms) proceed at a faster pace.

You app' problem might be OMF? (Operator Mal-Function)? I don't have your particular program but generally take considerable hardware on a run. Two watches: One for on-the-minute run/walk tracking. The other a GPS for pace, heart-rate, distance and cadence (step rate). I could program the GPS to eliminate the watch but never think about doing it when I'm home! I've also taken a portable metronome at times to increase step rate and shorten stride length. None of this stuff is needed long term of course but it does satisfy an inner nerd.

I use the Zenlabs C25K app and never had a problem! But, I also wear a watch and kind of keep track with that too. Mostly so I know how much further I have to run!

I use the UK NHS one on my MP3 player and it's been ok so far.

Today I finally completed week 4 run 1. Am feeling very proud of myself as I have been stuck on week 3 for 2 months.

Way to go Brand-ie!