I did it !!!! Hurrah !! So many firsts - first 10K, first race, first time running in pouring rain and first shake up of my route - I had already walked it but not run it - so there was lots of variety. Also decided to run with Nike run app, the 10K Head Starts - so coach bennet was giving me motivational pep talks every 600 metre or thereabouts ! In brief ‘be kind to yourself’, ‘don’t look at your watch’, and ‘you can hold many contradictions in your mind at the same time and that’s ok’ ! ❤️
Phew. The past couple of weeks have been difficult - I’ve done fewer runs and last weekend didn’t feel I could manage a long run and earlier this week got a stitch after 4K and have had a few twinges in ankle & knees too - but I managed, i was well warmed up, kept a slow pace (overall it took me 1hr 20 mins) and focused on form. I had a bit of euphoria around 5k ! I had passed 3 women with vitality bibs running the clockwise around part of my circuit that I was running anti-clockwise, so we waved at each other twice before I moved on my route ! Then around 8k it got hard but it was an uphill bit and I somehow put on a spurt after 9k - kind of realised, ‘yes, I’m going to finish this and finish it strong’ ! And when coach Bennett said ‘20 metres to go’ I just happened to be heading towards a bridge in the park which I imagined as my finishing line ! Felt great even though only the Heron was there to congratulate me 😀.
Thank you to everyone in this community whose posts and encouragement has been so vital (get it ?) in getting across the finishing line. Solidarity to all of those running your first 10ks ! Or even running a second or third one (I can’t contemplate that right now ! I reckon doing it a second time could be even more challenging than the first !!). 😂 And no matter what time it took you - those runners taking longer to complete 10K can take pride in the knowledge that they can run for longer than the faster ones. 😀
Ok - fortunately have lots of food left over from yesterday so no effort required for the rest of the day. Rejoice !! 🥳🏃🏻♀️🍰🥰
Written by
Juliet202
Graduate10
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I am sure that heron congratulated you in it's own way, I will also congratulate you on running your first 10K at the Vitality London 10 000, as its your first 10K you can get a badge and the word GRADUATE10 next to your username by leaving a message in the pinned posts on the right side of the healthunlocked October graduate home page and tell the administrators that you have ran your first 10K 🎓 😊.
Fantastic running and very well done. Wait until you run your first 10K race with an actual large crowd, the atmosphere is electric. Congratulations and your new Graduate10 badge suits you.
Congratulations Juliet, lovely post, so many firsts, what a thrill. 🤸♀️👏🏻👏🏻🥳I’m actually getting quite excited now, doing exactly the same next Saturday. Great idea to walk the route first as I’ve not run my intended route yet, I think I’ll do that mid week. Then hopefully at the weekend I’ll be very happily lining up for my ‘running for longer’ badge 🤣🤗
Yes. - walking the route was good exercise aswell - It was a vigorous walk and for part of the route I actually jogged - it was more like 7k walked, 3k run in two spurts. It was meant to be my 9k run but I didn’t feel up to it that day so settled for ‘walk’ - at least it kept me moving ! Good luck with yours next Saturday !! It’s a great feeling.
👏👏👏👏👏
Absolutely well done on ALL of your achievements. Goodness, you deserve them and you also deserve a celebration 🍾 tonight. You've done brilliantly 🙂
Huge congratulations Juliet - what a lot of firsts in one hit! It was kind of the heron to congratulate you- if we’d all been there we’d have done the same! Enjoy your leftovers!
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