It took me a week and a half to complete week 4. One reason was scheduling. The other reason was overcoming the 5-minute run mental hurdle.

I wasn’t expecting the 5-minute run when I started week 4 – just like I really wasn’t expecting the 3-minute run in week 3 – I don’t usually look ahead to the next week to see what’s coming

My first thought was, ugh! Three minutes was hard. How was I going to run for five?

But, the first time I ran for five minutes, I hit a stride after three (I might have been going downhill at the time, though).

The second 5-minute run in day one was more challenging and that’s when I realized how much more important mental strength is than physical strength when running. I shied away from running in the past because I don’t consider myself athletic. I have asthma and I think I’ve used that as an excuse. I don’t think its because I don’t have the ability.

When I wanted to stop, I told myself to keep running. When I thought I couldn’t run any farther, I looked for markers and kept pushing myself to the next one.

And when I completed day one, I nearly collapsed on the sidewalk.

I was dizzy and couldn’t breath but I made it back home – and laid on the cold, kitchen floor until I felt right with the world.

Day two was similar.

I try to run every other day but sometimes my schedule gets in the way. That’s what happened between day two and three – at first. Then my mind got the better of me and I grew fearful of that 5-minute run.

I knew if I didn’t get back to running soon, I might never. And it was crucial for me to complete week 4 because I’ve never gotten that far in the program before.

On Monday, I got up early, determined to run, but when I got to the end of my street at 6:30 am and realized there were no street lights on the main road, I turned around and went home.

Yesterday – a full week after day two – I completed day three of week 4. It was a great run! I didn’t let the 5-minute runs beat me, which is good thing because when I looked ahead at week 5 (yes, I did this time), its all 5-minute runs (gulp).

What are your mental running blocks? How do you run them over?

The woman in the photo is not me. Photo by lululemon athletica.

Week 3 surprised me.

I was expecting to alternate a 90 second run with a 90 second walk for 30 minutes.

Halfway through the second run set, I glanced at the timer on my C25K app and was surprised to see I still had 90 seconds left to run.

Huh?

Was there a glitch in the program?

Nope. It was a three-minute run!

Week 3 starts with a warm-up, then a 90 second run followed by a 90 second walk. Then the three-minute shock to my running system followed by a three-minute walk. Both sets are repeated and the workout ends with a cool-down.

On day 1 of week 3, that first three-minute run was hard. By day 3, only the second three-minute run was a struggle.

I’m getting there!