r/C25K • u/yeahmynathan27 W5D3 • 4d ago

W6D1 seems easier compared to W5D3. Why is that?

The leap between W5D2 and W5D3 is imo, very massive despite it being only 4 minutes more because there is no walking break. But for some reason W6D1 is even easier than W5D2. Why is that? Is it to give the runner enough time to recover? What is the science behind it?

13 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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8

u/Sure-Ordinary05_ 4d ago

I did w9d2 yesterday and 1 thing that I have noticed so far is that on some days you'll feel worse running for 2 minutes and next time you could run 30 minutes and feel awesome without any reason... Running feels so random....

6

u/thechrismonster Week 6 4d ago

100%. I finished the final week at the start of the month, so now I just run every other day maybe with two days in between. Some of these runs I'll feel great to add extra time/distance, then some of those other runs make me consider moving back to week 5.

4

u/yeahmynathan27 W5D3 3d ago

Holy shit you were right. I did W6D1 today and it was harder than W5D3. I hope the next one is easier than today lol

9

u/heron202020 4d ago

It’s a mental block and meant to overcome it. It looks hard because you have to run for 20 mins straight. But once you finish it, rest of the program seems pretty reasonable.

And, remember to start out slow, run slow and finish it.

Best wishes!

-1

u/yeahmynathan27 W5D3 4d ago

Thanks, but I already finished W5D3. This post is about W6D1

7

u/Informal_Tennis1744 4d ago

I think they’re saying W5D3 is a mental block and once you get past it, all the other days seem easier comparatively

4

u/tomca32 3d ago

This is how running training is usually organized. You will have one hard run followed by a few easier runs before the next harder run. Progress is not linear and having every run be a difficult one doesn’t lead to better results and increases the chances of getting injured. Also, if every run is hard it will drain you mentally.

Not sure of the exact science behind it though, but in general it’s to help you recover from hard runs. It takes more than a day to repair all the damage from a difficult run.

3

u/ebolalol 3d ago

i find that my diet, sleep, mental state affects how difficult or easy exercising feels that day.