Hi, I am in the middle of week 04 of my C25K program, and since I've been recording my workouts with a HRM I'd like to post the graphs here and check if you can see something wrong with them. I am 27 and using these zones: - Heavy to maximal intensity 90-100% - Moderate to heavy intensity 70-89% - Light to moderate intensity 60-69% And these are the graphs: Week 01: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 Week 02: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 Week 03: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 Week 04: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 Can you see something wrong with them? Should I worry about the 92-93% HR intervals in week 04? (I mean, it's only five bloody minutes!) Any kind of advice is appreciated

Hi Roark. The way I'm reading the graphs you have is that when you're walking your HR is in the yellow zone and then you're running and it's shooting up into the red zone and doesn't come down until you're at another walking interval, is that right? Based off that, I'd say that you're most likely just trying to run too fast too soon. Slow down, man! When you're running you should be doing it at a pace that would allow you to hold a conversation with someone. Or recite the Pledge of Allegience if you're alone. If you're out of breath... and I'm guessing that if your HR is in the 190's you're pretty out of breath... then you're training too hard. Strange as it may sound, at this point in the game training at a more moderate pace is better for you than running as fast as you can maintain for 5 minutes. My best suggestion to you would be to go ahead and give yourself an extra week - do week 4 over again. Leave the HR monitor at home for the week and instead spend your time listening to yourself breathe and get in touch with how it feels with how hard you're working. This will help you more in the long term. Perhaps a change of terms might help - if you're having trouble "running" at a slower pace, call it jogging. Call it a slow jog. Call it a turtle's pace. Call it whatever you need to in order to get the idea across to yourself that the object is NOT to run as fast as you can for as long as you can. Good luck! Janell

Hi Janell and Bonkin, Yeah, in the light of the HR graphs you are probably right that I should slow down a bit. However, the point is that I feel that I am not running THAT fast. Actually, at times when I go over 90% I try to slow down to reduce the HR and even at a "turtle's pace" it doesn't go below that percentage. I don't know, my evolution seems to have stopped after week 4. Perhaps it is because things are becoming more difficult, but at the moment it is a little bit stagnant. I think I will repeat week 4 and see how it evolves :s

By the way, I've been pondering quite a lot about your on "being able to run forever"... Haha, I still get kind of tired after walk/running for 25 mins, but hell, that's a sensation I *want* to feel someday. Man, it must be such a powerful feeling... Somebody out there should make a movie dealing with that sensation, I tell you! :p