Sometimes your muscles swell when you start an exercise program I "gained" six pound the week I started lifting. And then lost it and another couple of pounds a couple of weeks later.

My experience is that week 4 kicks your butt if you haven't slowed down enough. It's pretty much designed to force you to find your pace so you can get through week 5 and beyond. Slow down. If you have to stop during the walking intervals and stretch, do that. But keep going. You've almost turned the corner on this.

I start Week 4 tomorrow. Trying to go into it with an open mind but I'm dreading that first 5 min run! Baby steps, right? I'm already slower than a snail so maybe it'll work in my favor.

I had a hard time with week 3 yesterday and the 3 minute run. I didn't make it either time. But when I was just running for me off the clock I was able to run for 3 minutes. I'm still struggling with finding my pace.

Funny, my wife and I started together and I am probably in better shape than she is. Even for me though, it has been hard. Every single time the run time increased, she would say she didn't think she could do it. We finally had our first failure on W5D3, that is the first long run...20 minutes. We ran for 15, then walked the rest. We tried again the next day and made it without dying. You can do more than you think. Keep at it!

Help me! I am stuck on week 4.

I have tried three times and I can not complete week 4. My mind and body give up every time with 2:30 left in the last run. Same place every time (I always finish it out walking...but not running). I don't want to give up, but I feel like I need something to get me over this hump. I don't want to move on to week 5 until I am confident I can do week 4.

Anyone else get stuck?

I've just been taking the advice of other people on here and if I'm having trouble I slow down. Yes, sometimes it feels like I'm barely moving forward, but I get into the rhythm and generally increase my time over each of the weeks. That said, I'm only on week 4 too, but it doesn't seem to be too bad. I've got day 3 today. Next week, week 5, looks to be a difficult one!

I'm going to agree with all the other people who say to slow down - if you're not able to finish then you're trying to run too fast (and that's for all of the running segments, not just that final 5 minutes). I did C25K last year and the advice my friend gave me was "just keep your feet moving" and that worked. I'm doing it again this year and just finished W5D2 today. I am moving faster this year than last year, but I'm also better at controlling my breath and setting the right pace from having done it before. I was pleasantly surprised by how the 8 minute runs today didn't feel any longer than the 5 minute runs did on W5D1.

Ok ..you all were right. . I was going way too fast on the first part. I slowed both my walk and my runs down a lot today and finished with ease. I even ran an extra minute at the end of the last run because I could.

I use Edmondo also when I run to track my route and calories. What's funny is the first mile I added almost 4 minutes to...that's how much slower I was. But that made the second mile so much easier. And the time for the two miles ended up being almost the same as always. Any I wasn't really to keil over and die at the end.

I am going to do w4d3 tomorrow and if it goes as well as today I will take a rest day and start week 5 on Tuesday! Yeah!

Thanks everyone.

Great job. This is what will get you through week 5 with ease.

I took my fat out and did W4D1 today after a few days off due to work, a cold and Tropical Storm Andrea. I was really worried about the 5 min runs, but I think at this point it's more a mind game than a physical one. I did them, but incredibly slowly. I do 5 steps in each two squares of sidewalk. Some of the bugs were faster than me. But I did it. I'm actually starting to like it too. And trying not to think ahead to W5D3

One of the things that you'll want to work on after C25k is cadence. You want quick light steps that almost land under you at about 180 beats per minute. This increases your efficiency and reduces injury. It sounds like you are already on your way.

I can't imagine getting it going that fast. What's the best way to time it and see where you are?

I'm about to start Week 4 on Tuesday. I'm nervous, but I'm going to try that tip about slowing down my pace. I am totally dying after Week 3.

I am the OP of this tread. I was ready to give up because I thought I would never get past week 4. Nearly everyone told me to slow down.

They were right...Slow down. Seriously, I slowed down so much so that when I finished it for the first time I thought "that was too easy"

I am now on W7D2 and have not struggled completing a run since. It still is hard work, I still have to push through the last couple minutes, and it still feels great when I am done...But I don't feel like I am literally going to collapse and die at the end.

I look forward to every run now because I know I can do it. I am slow - I rarely finish the distance before the time - but I feel myself improving everyday. And I am in no hurry to complete the program because it is what motivates me. So I figure speed will just give me something to work towards later.

Slow down, and stick with it. You can do it!

I'm so glad that you are doing it! Congrats on making it so far in the program. Honestly, it is really mental after a while. I find that, while my legs get sore after a while, my mind is much quicker to give up than my body. I concentrate on how my body feels and keep telling myself, my legs feel good so I'm keeping going.

If your legs get sore, run with your arms. Seriously, concentrate on pumping them back. It'll move your legs without having to think about them.

Thanks for the link and even the metronome idea. I'll check out both.