I have been wondering what makes week four so difficult.  It seems so much harder than week three.  I now know why.  I took a look at the program and added up the total run times for the interval run segments.  I think my calculations are right.  Here is how the runs add up:

  • Week 1 - 60 seconds X 8 = 8 minutes
  • Week 2 - 90 seconds X 6 = 9 minutes
  • Week 3 - 90 seconds X 2 + 3 minutes X 2 = 9 minutes
  • Week 4 - 3 minutes X 2 + 5 minutes X 2 = 16 minutes
  • Week 5.D1 - 5 minutes X 3 = 15 minutes
  • Week 5.D2 - 8 minutes X 2 = 16 minutes
  • Week 5.D3 - 20 minutes running (no walking)
  • Week 6.D1 - 5 minutes X 2 + 8 minutes = 18 minutes
  • Week 6.D2 - 10 minutes X 2 = 20 minutes
  • Week 6.D3 - 25 minutes running (no walking)

The remaining weeks are run only, progressing up to 30 minutes. Here is what we can see from the run time totals.  Once you start, the entry levels don’t change much for the first three weeks, only  increasing by one minute of running time.  However, there is a substantial increase from the nine minutes of running in week three to the sixteen minutes of running in week four.  This is why it feels so difficult.  There is 77% more running in week four than in week three.  But, you’re prepared for it.  The first three weeks teach you how to push through when you don’t feel like running.  In week four, you push through again, going at a little slower pace if you need to.  It seems there are two gently sloping plateaus in the Couch to 5K program.  There is the initial jump from nothing to the entry level plateau.  There is a second jump from week three to week four, which gets you from the entry level plateau to the finishing level plateau.  Once you get through week four, the percentage increase per week and per workout reduce.  The mixing of the intervals in week six after only running at the end of week five teaches you that it is easier to keep your rhythm and to keep moving, than it is to stop the rhythm and then have to reacquire it again for the next run interval.  Completion of the Couch to 5K program is within your grasp.  Keep at it!  You can do it!