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I'm really struggling with week 4 but I seem to be getting worse at it, not better.

W4, R1 I managed to do the first 5minute run but stopped on the second 5min run, then R2 I managed the same but stopped even earlier on the second 5min run, then R3 yesterday I had to stop on BOTH 5minute runs!
It's a little discouraging as I've managed to stick to the plan religiously up until now... I'm just finding the 5min runs difficult both physically and mentally, I'm trying not to get down about it but I feel like I'm failing

I've read on the forums to repeat a week if I'm struggling but is it ok to repeat a week three or even four times until I feel comfortable enough to progress to the next week?

Week 4 is getting to me, too. I have to slow down during the 5 minute runs. I don't think there's anything wrong with repeating a week several times; after looking at week 5, I know I'm not ready, so I'll redo week 4 again and see how it goes from there. If I'm still not ready, I'll do it again. It's better to stick with it than to overexert yourself.

Hi Lauraj and Tristaodonata,

You are both doing really nicely!

Yes, it's definitely okay to repeat a week once, twice, or as many times as you want (I did too when I was going through).

Like Tristaodonata says, it's much more important to be happy and reasonably comfortable with the running than it is to progress through the program week by week – if you're not enjoying something it will be hard to stick to it. Trust me that you are making progress. You will get there in the end, don't worry. Also, if you start a week and it is too tough, don't worry about returning to the week before for a little longer before you give it another try.

Thanks, and happy running!