Zen Labs Couch to 5K C25k Week Four Day 1

Week 4 Day 1

I was dreading Week 4 Day 1! It was the point where I had to jump up to 5 minutes straight of running. While doing the three minute intervals last week, I honestly didn't think I could run any longer than three minutes. My shins hurt, my quads were tight, my hamstrings were screaming. I was in pain and wanted nothing more than to start walking once I hit the three minute mark. I thought about doing Week 3 over again, but decided that I should give Week 4 a try and if I couldn't get through the five minute running segments, I would go as long as I could and then I would walk for a few seconds and then run again. If I couldn't get through the full five minutes by the end of the week, I had planned on repeating Week 4 until I could do it. At some point, I actually did the math and realized that I made it all the way around the track in just over three minutes last Friday. That means, I was running at a 12 minute mile pace, which would put me at finishing a 5k in around 40 minutes. I've been running for three weeks! That's a pretty fast pace for someone of my "skill set." I felt like I was running painfully slow, but I think a 12 minute mile is pretty fast for someone in the beginning of this running thing. I figured that I could slow the speed down a little bit and be able to get through the five minute sections. It worked! I was able to make it through the five minute running segments. My calves were killing me by the end of the five minute segments, but I got through it! I'm so excited! I'm a bit scared for next week when I have to run for 8 minutes at a time and then on Friday of next week, it's 20 minute! Absolute madness! I need to get some new music on my phone so it's not the same songs over and over again. They are all songs I love, but now that I'm not focusing on forcing myself to breathe, I'm listening to the music more and noticing that it's been the same music going on four weeks now! I'm still quite impressed with how quickly my heart rate comes down once I slow down. All of that cardio I've been doing for the past year and a half has paid off!