Cut back your speed.

For me Week 5 was a sort of turning point.  It started a "harder" period that didn't get much better until Week 7 or so.  Maybe consider slowing down?  I was able to run faster until Week 5 and in order to continue on I had to slow my pace.  I'm still not back to my pre-week 5 pace but I'm more focused on continuing than on my pace, which is what people here often recommend.

Nicole, the best thing is to stick with it but do it in a way that works.  Don't force a bad situation.

You haven't said what your program or goal is so I'm going to guess that based on your statement of 7.5 minutes is about your current limit I'll give some starting runner ideas that have helped me.

• do short intervals.  Run for 2 minutes at your 7 minute pace, then walk for 30 seconds and repeat.  This will allow your heart rate to recover some and help you adapt to the higher effort level.
• Break the run into 2 equal intervals.  Add the 30 second break in the middle and allow for warm up and cool down walking/slow running too.  I use a 2x20 minute interval as the bread and butter of my endurance workouts but you can use any time frame that suits you. 
• Keep the rest period short.  Once your heart rate lowers back to your warm up level you're done and any more rest time won't help.  You can do this without a heart rate monitor, usually 30 to 45 seconds is enough.
• Patience, Grasshopper!    It takes time for you to adapt to the demands of a sport and you can't expect everything to fall into place in 4 to 8 weeks.  I'm assuming you haven't been doing lots of running before starting this program so be prepared to adapt the program to fit how you're responding to it.  The good news is that this will build on itself, so the more you do the better you will get and the easier it will become.
• Don't overtrain.  Your program probably gives you time off between workouts, or at least it should.  I take every 3rd or 4th weekend easy when I'm training for an event.  Otherwise I end up exhausted, grumpy (according to my wife), and more likely to get sick because my immune system is run down too.  Because you're on the 5th week I thought I'd highlight this possibility.  Currently I take 2 days off between most runs, more if it's a long one, just to allow plenty of time to recover.

Hopefully this is some helpful info.  I've deliberately left out distances because they're trivial and it's all about time and effort.  If you could add more about what you're doing and what your goal is it would help to get more specific advice from everyone.  The short answer though, as previously stated, is to carry on through it doing what you can.

Andy

hey, based on my experience, you might want to try slowing down.  i completed c25k in May, and have recently (3-4 weeks ago) gone back and started over - this time my "running" pace is 5.0 mph (when i first started it was 4.5).  i am finding that since i've built up a good base fitness level, it's been much more do-able to go faster.

so give your body time to get used to running, and know that you can always go back and train to go faster

Hi Nicole,

I think this is my first post here!

As others have said - allow yourself to go slower.

For me, W4 was the toughest. The 5 min really hurt and I felt quite discouraged. I had to really slow down on the 5 min in order to get through.

W5 seemed to turn around and every run I have done since I have felt stronger. I even ran my first 5k race on W7D3! I would have never thought I could get through that 3 weeks before.

I am running outside (have never ran on a treadmill) so it is easy for me to slow down without being discouraged as I have no idea how fast I am running.
But you ARE running - even if it is "slow".

Keep it up - it gets easier!

ETA - actually not my 1st post - I posted 3 years ago when I only got through W2 . Ah well... hopefully it sticks this time!

I was at 5.0 too!  So I cut back to 4.8 and that was totally doable.  If you have to cut back more, just go with what works.  You'll have plenty of time to work on pace later.  Now I'm doing intervals when I run on the treadmill to help with pacing for when I run outdoors.  A trainer gave me a 30 minute interval routine, and it also helps with the boredom on the treadmill. 

troopertribe wrote:

 

Thanks so much for all the replies. I'm currently running at 5.0 on the treadmill. How much should I cut back in speed without taking "2 steps backward" so to speak?

Excellent work!  Keep it up and you will be able to do all things before you know it.  Just stay within your limits and you'll be fine.  Remember that speed work and endurance work are separate workouts.  Doing both at the same time is really hard work and most people I know do either or on a given day. 

Andy