Get Running Forums

Hi guys just wanted to get views on two things.

Firstly I am on holiday soon. I would like to say that I will run while I am there, however this would be a lie and I shouldn't fool you or myself. What should I do on my return? Start on the same week that I was on before I went or go back a week or two.

Secondly I am on week four run two. I did the first run yesterday and found it very hard. I barely completed it. I kept pausing my 5 minute runs the first after 4.5 minutes and the second a minute and half into it. I had to walk and probably walked for a minute or. Should I perservere with wk4 or go back? I had to find a new street course too as the park I ue has a fairground built on it. Very frustrating!

Hi there,

Firstly, I wouldn't worry too much about going on holiday. I have had two weeks off from running (one because of a holiday and one due to injuring myself during a weight workout, stupid I know ). While it's felt quite frustrating not to be able to go and I was dreading starting again, I actually found that I had maintained my running ability and even felt that I improved more quickly than usual after my breaks. However, the first run was quite hard, so don't let one bad run put you off!

Moving on, I am the queen of repeating runs. I think I started GetRunning in early March and I still haven't managed the final run of Week 5. I lost count of the number of times I ran Week1, looking back at my log I did Week3 for almost three weeks before I felt ready to move on. By the sounds of it, you aren't ready for Week4, I know it can feel incredibly disheartening to watch other people breeze through the program while you struggle and repeat runs. But focus on yourself and the improvements you are making. If you force yourself to keep going for a distance which you aren't ready for, you will only learn to hate running and eventually give up. I would keep repeating Week3 until it is comfortable for you to run, and then have another go at Week4. One thing I found really helpful was extending working on a week until the point where I was able to extend my final run beyond the required time, as that let me know I would be ready to move up to longer runs.

Also, have faith in yourself. The first time I ran for five minutes, I didn't even think I would make it halfway through that. When I did, I decided that, yes, I was tired but I would just try to keep going until I literally couldn't anymore, and I actually managed to finish my five minutes (very red in the face and panting, but I did finish it). Essentially, you just have to learn to listen to your body and know both when to stop and when to keep going. Don't let set backs get you down, but try and focus on how far you've come and the achievements you've made so far. You're running for a lot longer than you were doing at the start of this program, and I know you will keep getting better!

Good luck!