Help! I hit a wall in C25K @ W5D3!!

dave_in_delaware · July 2011

So, I've been going through the C25K Program (treadmill version) for 4.5 weeks, gradually working my way up to being able to run at least 5.0 mph consistently. I had started out around 4 mph to see how my body handled it and 5 mph seems to be a good pace for me. I was able to complete W5D2 which consisted of two 8-minute runs, which I did at 5.0 mph pace. It wasn't easy for me to run 8 minutes straight, but I did it.

Then, I tried W5D3, which is just one 20-minute run (with warmup/cooldown walks). Well, I barely made it to only 7 minutes of running, before my throat was dry (breathing through my mouth), my legs were burning, my heart was pounding, and I just couldn't imagine running another 13 minutes. I would have died (not literally, probably, but it felt like it). So, I cut it back to a 3.1 mph walk to recouperate a little and get my mind back into the exercise. After a short walk I went back to running, a bit slower in pace, but I could only go another 3 minutes before I had to walk again. WTF!!

Needless to say I'm frustrated right now. I've been able to handle this program up until the last day of Week 5. It seemed like a huge jump to me to go from running 8 minutes at a time to 20 minutes, but I tried (and failed).

What do I do? Try week 5 totally over again? Modify it to maybe run 8 minutes, then next time try 12 minutes, then the 20 minutes on the third day? I'm guessing I also need to cut my pace back so I'm not so tired after only 5 minutes, so I can make it through the whole 20 minutes?

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't know how to get past this 20-minute running barrier.

sophjakesmom · July 2011

Slow down!! I think C25K is much harder on the treadmill because you have the miliage and pace right in front of you. I would suggest doing week 5 over, but go outside and run. Some of us naturally speed up and slow down as we run based on how we feel, so we may average a certain speed, but aren't always at that speed, like the treadmill forces you to be.

Hang in there. if you take an extra week or two, you will still get there. Good luck!

omgsaleslady · July 2011

bump

(i never did get past it, after trying several different things...sorry!)

shonniegrl · July 2011

A lot of people hit that wall and it is ok. Just repeat the prior week until you feel you are ready to move on. You will get there!!

wadesha · July 2011

Go slower on the 20 minute jog. Running is mainly keeping a pace when going for distances or periods of time. start at a pace you can keep for 20 minutes and try to go a little faster each time you repeat day 3. Continue to do day 3 over and over until your confident with it and can do it with a little more ease. Its hard to run for 20 minutes straight but you have to tough it out and get through it just don't stop until its over and you will feel so good when your finished, Good luck and don't give up

clioandboy · July 2011

Hi there, well the programme is great and yep that jump from 8 mins to 20 is a shock to the system!!!! I am injured at the moment (not for the first time) and what I will do to return back to 10k is return to C25k week 3, then week 4 then week 5 then I will be away again.

I am not you but if I was I would repeat week 3 then week 4 then attack that week 5 again, you will do it but the programme does need tailoring to our own needs!!!!! you will do this but your body needs to be ready for that 20 minuter but hey let me tell you when you do it it is FANTASTIC me and my pal whooped and hugged it was lovely a real achievement. take it easy, take it slow build up and do this!!!!!! good luck

Ndskuse · July 2011

I have not done the C25k program, but I have read it and I have done some long distance running myself in the past. I would try backing off the speed in order to build the endurance. I also found that with running, that 'wall' is more in your mind than your legs/lungs. You can push through it quite easily if you make your mind control what your body is doing. Focus on your breathing (very important) and keep it deep, smooth, and in rhythm. When you feel like you are going to die...tell your legs to keep going...and believe it or not...you will!

Long story short; take your pace back a bit until you are comfortable with a 15+ minute run with no breaks and keep breathing!

jtapp9 · July 2011

I did the EXACT same thing a couple years ago!!! Got frustrated and quit. DON'T QUIT!!

If you did 4mph and it seemed a little slow and you did 5mph but it got a bit hard when doing longer times...then my suggestion is try 4.5 mph and start week 5 over. Start it from the beginning to build your mental confidence back up that you CAN run 2 eight minute sessions before you go on to attempt 20. And when you get to the 3rd session just TRY it. If you cannot do it but you are getting closer then you know you are going in the right direction. Start week 5 over again. When you can complete it fully with the 20 minute run but you feel like you are going to slow.....then do it again if you wish but up your speed a little bit the next time.

there are no fast and hard rules that say you MUST complete C25K in the exact order or time line that it is set up for. You are not a failure! MANY people do not complete it in 9 weeks. You just learn to adjust it to fit your body and move onward and upward from there.

Good luck! You can do it!!!

AmandaB4588 · July 2011

Shake it off and try again!

With you making it to 7 minutes (after successfully doing the 2-8 minute runs,) I want to go out on a limb and say that this barrier is totally a mental thing. Maybe you do not really think 20 minutes is possible, but it is!

You have already run 16, so just believe in yourself and go for it!

Cmccracken1 · July 2011

this is very common,,, just give yourself a day of rest and give it another shot don't move on until you have it mastered... you will be fine...
i hit that same wall not sure it was that exact day or the next one, seems like i did the 20 min run and when i went to do it again i couldnt. . regroup get your determination up and give it all you got.

Cmccracken1 · July 2011

this is very common,,, just give yourself a day of rest and give it another shot don't move on until you have it mastered... you will be fine...
i hit that same wall not sure it was that exact day or the next one, seems like i did the 20 min run and when i went to do it again i couldnt. . regroup get your determination up and give it all you got.

MassiveDelta · July 2011

Ok as a graduate I have to say I slowed down as suggested to get through. But I found when I was done I was slower overall then I wanted to be. Im not sure slowing down is the answer. I think actually going back to the previous week and pushing yourself to go faster is a better solution. Then after a week try the next week again at your original pace.

kellyscomeback · July 2011

Try a slower pace and repeat the prior days as much as you need. I'm on W5D1 and I'm just going for pace, not time or distance.

dave_in_delaware · July 2011

Wow! So many great suggestions and advice! Thank you everyone for the support! Don't worry. I'm not going to quit. Which is why I was asking what to do/try now.

I've read everyone's posts, and it seems that the suggestions vary a little bit as far as where I should "continue." Some suggested repeating the week, others suggested just repeating the day. So, I'm not sure exactly what I'll do on those ideas. But I'll repeat/retry part of Week 5 in some way.

But two things I did read, that seemed to be the majority ideas, were:

1. Slow down my pace
2. Get past the mental block

And you know what? These are both my problem.

I know that pace isn't important to the point of not slowing down from time to time when needed, but I wanted to try to maintain my current pace of 5 mph. Obviously that is too fast for 20 minutes and my body being able to handle that pace for that long. So, I'll cut it back to 4.0 at first to see how that goes.

And I do admit that this jump from two 8-minute runs (total of 16, but not all at once) to 20-minutes at one time really freaked me out. I had already told myself that it was a huge leap in duration, so I probably psyched myself out and set myself up to fail. Another thing that got into my head after my Day 3 was the fact that I couldn't do that day, but I've been able to get through every workout up to that point, so what was wrong with me now? So, I definitely need to readjust my mental "encouragement system" and keep telling myself that I can do this, even if I have to slow it down a bit.

And I'll keep working on my breathing, although maybe I'm doing that wrong? I've been trying to breathe IN and exhale through my nose at first, until I'm running for a while and I need more oxygen, then I breathe IN through my nose but exhale out of my mouth. I thought this would keep my throat wet so I'm not feeling dried out and dehydrated during my runs. But maybe this isn't the right way to breathe? I'm new to all this running stuff, so any advice on breathing would also be appreciated.

Thank you, everyone. You've helped me a lot.

AmandaB4588 · July 2011

Keep us posted! Best of luck to you--- you can do this!

dave_in_delaware · July 2011

Well, here's an update for everyone:

I decided to redo Week 5 but with some modifications. I took the original W5D2 and made it my new W5D1, which I did today (OK, technically yesterday - Tuesday). But I ended up tweaking it part way through my walk (I was feeling rejuvenated already I guess) by cutting one minute off of that walk and adding it to the 2nd 8-minute leg, making it a 9-minute run. I cut my pace back a bit as well, down to 4.7 mph instead of 5, so I was able to finish it. Adding that extra minute to the last run might not sound like much to most of you, but for me it was a huge deal and made me happy.

My new W5D2 will be similar to today's, with only a 3-minute "break" in between two 9-minute runs.

Then, my W5D3 will be the same as the original, the 20-minute run from last week that I bombed out on. I'll definitely cut my pace back a bit for this so I can finish it.

Thanks for all the help and support and encouragement everyone! You got me back on track!

centari · October 2012

I hit the same wall.
gonna retry W5D3 after my rest day...

rrrbecca11 · October 2012

Your head has already proven to you that you CAN run at least 8 minutes straight. This is just your body, trying to sabotage that effort because it hurts. Let it hurt a little. Like many others said, I'd go back and do week 4 again and then so on. Also drop your pace down a bit and run outside every chance you get.

2S_1R · October 2012

I hit the wall when I did C25K two years ago around the same time you did. The thing about it, (and this may not be correct in everyone's eyes) is most people have a "pace", the pace of 5 mph is decent when you're familiar to running, but when you're first starting out it's probably not a great choice. You may have found success when the runs were 30-90 seconds but now that you're up to the longer distances you have to keep your pace in check. I've noticed that if I go under a 11min/mile pace (such as 10:30) I can't do it.

I typically run 5-6 miles, but when my pace was more at a 10:30min/mile for my last race, there was a lot of walking because I wore my body out at the very beginning and couldn't get back to it.

Find what makes YOUR body happy, and stick with it!

Hope this helps!

rchupka87 · October 2012

I did the exact same thing. W5, D3 is my nemisis. I still have not done it. Mine was completely and totally mental. And I tried for WEEKS to get it done. It just wasn't happening.

I ended up downloading the 10k app, and started back at week 3. I am still going through the program. I have not gotten back to week 5. But I did run in and complete my first 5k last weekend.

You can do it. Just try not to think or obsess about it too much like I did. Good Luck!!!

goddessofsewing · October 2012

I had the same problem. I spent the next week trying to run that 20 minutes. I never got there that week, but moved on to week 6 the week after that. I've been successful since then and I'm running my first 5K tomorrow morning. :bigsmile:

Help! I hit a wall in C25K @ W5D3!!

Replies

Categories