Cannot get past Week 3, what am I doing wrong?

aimforhealthy

I have had a respiratory infection for the last 3 weeks. Prior to that, I had just finished Week 3 and had struggled with Week 4. I wasn't able to finish Week 4 for the first 2 tries and was finally able to push through to finish Week 4 Day 1 on my third try, but barely, and I came down with the flu 2 days later. So I didn't run for 8 days.

I started again on Week 3 Day 1 on day 9 of the flu and found it even harder than the first time I tried it when I'd started with Week 1. I barely made it through W3D1 that day - and I go VERY slow - 4.5 mph. Did all 3 days of W3 that week, tried W4D1 again - couldn't even finish halfway through. Scaled back and did another week of W3... tried W4D1 again and made it a LITTLE farther, but still wasn't able to finish.

I still have a pretty bad cough and I'm sure that's a big part of what's holding me back. Coughing and running don't do a lot for breathing. I'm taking cough suppressants now per the doctor's Rx, and they seem to be helping, but basically I'm not sure what to do about C25K - stop for now until my cough is completely gone? Keep at W3? Keep trying at W4? My doctor was totally unhelpful and said I should "just do what my body tells me" but I'm not sure what that even is. Many thanks in advance for any help/tips/ advice.

daniellemm1

I was at about the same point when I got sick and though I probably should have just rested I felt that I had to keep going to stay on schedule so I didn't bail on the program. I thought I was going to die because my chest hurt so much. I did push through though I don't know if that was the best thing to do. You may want to take a few days off to work on recovering from whatever you have before trying to proceed. I would advise staying on Week 3 until you can successfully complete it. Good luck and feel better soon.

PaytraB

First, rest up and get better. Maybe don't try to jog while you're still coughing. Take care of yourself first.

As for jogging, my advice would be to slow down. When I was training, I ran at 6Km/hr (3.75 miles/hr) and slowed down if I started to feel winded or thought I might not make a run period. Your speed sounds fast to me.
Slow your pace so that you can keep up with the program. Speed will come on its own. I'm the perfect example of that. I'm still slow but my time continues to come down, without me trying to make it happen. Today I jogged 5k in 44:12..... it's the first time I broke the 45 minute mark.
It happens. You can do this. Slow and steady will get you there.

likitisplit

The rule of thumb for running sick is to run when it's above the neck and rest when it's below. I have a sinus infection that has turned into a cough and I'm going crazy because I had to skip my weekend run.

When you're not coughing anymore, go back to week 3 and slow down. Week 4 is designed to slow you down if you're not slow enough already. It's also where a lot of people quit.

I ran less than a 20 minute mile until week 6 (3 miles an hour). After week 7, the runs were more consistent and I started to know when I could use a little more. However, you have to learn to run slow enough to get to the point where you can start getting faster.

aimforhealthy

Thank you guys for the feedback. My cough is MUCH better now after a few days of cough suppressants breaking the vicious coughing = throat/bronchial irritation = more coughing cycle.

Honestly, jogging at 4.5 miles an hour seems really slow to me already. I'm 5'8" and have really long legs and it's barely jogging to me - my son is 5'11" and at that speed he basically just walks fast. Nevertheless, I'm going to try to slow it down today and try W4D1 again and see if that helps. Thanks again for the support!

PaytraB

I'm 5'10". It does feel better to jog faster but at this point in the training your focus is on endurance. There were times that I thought I must look silly trotting along so slowly. But going quicker made me tucker out too soon.
Other joggers are so great. No matter how slow I jog along, the other runners always wave, smile and further encourage me. They were there once, too. I see my future self in their running styles and speeds.
You're doing great. Your determination and interest will get you to your goal. Glad you're feeling better. I can't imagine jogging with a cough. My day will come, I'm sure , but it won't be pretty ....or fun.

likitisplit

Yeah. I'm 5'9" I was slower than a herd of turtles.