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I managed to run 30 minutes today for the first time and it felt great. FWIW, here’s what I’ve learned so far: 1. Some days seem harder than others for no reason. Just accept it. 2. If you get to the end of a run and you feel like you can go a bit further, go for it but stop before you feel wrecked. 3. Eat a piece of fruit half an hour before you go. 4. Leave at least 1 day between runs. 5. Don’t neglect stretching before and after each run. 6. Knee guards actually make a difference. 7. And here is the big one. When you get to the runs without walks, you have to change your mindset. Before you take off, picture yourself running to the end without the breaks. Enjoy!

I see this is an old post but I am responding just in case it helps someone reading through these. Someone once told me the trick to running distance for a newbie is to run ridiculously slow. It works! Speed will come as you get stronger and build your endurance up. So run for distance NOT speed in the beginning. I’ve never had to repeat a week running this way. The C25K is a great program to ease you into running but forget about speed in the beginning, it will eventually come!

I wanted to add an update for anyone else who gets to this point and panics when they see the 20 minute jog on week 5, day 3, like I did. When I got there, I ended up doing a repeat of week 5, days 1 & 2, which I wish I hadn’t done because it turns out, I could’ve done the 20 minute jog non-stop. I just completed week 6 and rather than psych myself out on day 3 (22 minute run), I decided I would run until I couldn’t any long and was surprised when I did the full 22 minutes non-stop without feeling like I was going to die or like I did too much. So, even if you’re sure you can’t do it, if you’ve made it that far, don’t listen to yourself. Push yourself. You can do it. On day 3 of both week 5 and week 6, you know you’ve got non-stop jogs, so don’t start out going full tilt. Start with a nice, steady pace that isn’t too taxing. If you have to, don’t pay attention to the timer. Just keep telling yourself you’re going to keep going. Eventually, you’ll get into a groove and your body will quit panicking. You can do it!

I did it! C25K week 5 day 3 is in the books! I ran for 20 minutes straight, which is 12 minutes more than I’ve ever done before. I didn’t hit the 2 mile mark because I only run at 5 mph, but running for 20 minutes without stopping is a huge accomplishment for me. I am by no means a runner, and just a few weeks ago 3 minutes at a time was rough. I will say I much prefer the intervals to the long runs, but it is very satisfying to know that I am capable.