Q: Why do runners go jogging early in the morning?
A: They want to finish before their brain figures out what they're doing.
Thank you to everyone on this lovely community site, to those who gave me encouragement when I needed it and for all the wonderful blogs that became my inspiration …… So here is mine, feel free to stop reading before I bore you silly, because it’s going to read like War and Peace ……..
The reason I started this running lark, was because I had what the medical profession called a ‘Bakers Cyst’ at the back of my knee which burst. This resulted in the fluid dispersing around my knee and into my lower calf. The tablets the doctors prescribe where just getting stronger and stronger and were failing to ease the pain or remove the build-up of fluid. My doctor asked me if I exercised, I replied yes! I do Zumba 3 times a week ……… To this he sucked in his breath, shook his head and said ‘Not a good form of exercise, take up cycling or running’.
So, one week before my 54th birthday (9 weeks ago) I made a pledge to myself that I would follow this podcast for the full 9 weeks and I would crawl out of bed extra early on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, as I work all week, thus insuring I kept my weekends free. I had a couple of hic-up days, when I had to run two days in a row, but I did it 
Week 8 was my one and only nemesis week, I found this week such a struggle, it started off bad on the Monday, but I got through it in 4 days ……. on the plus side I ran an extra 10 minutes that week
Week 9 and I decided to abandoned Laura, and use my own playlist. Laura was only going to give me time checks in my ear and I could do that with my own mixture of inspirational music, for me it was a wise move. For my last song, which took me to the 30 minutes and the finish line, I chose Michael Bolton singing ‘Go the Distance’ followed by Alicia Keys and ‘Girl on Fire’ as my cool down walk song.
Run 1 = My playlist worked, finished 30:45 mins with 3.97km covered
Run 2 = I added another song to the list, finished 33:21 mins with 4:15km covered
Run 3 = Legs were like lead, and that feeling stayed with me all the way. I really struggled to complete this run, I just so wanted to give up, but tomorrow was the weekend and my free time and I was determined to complete this program, on time and on schedule. I took a look at my Garmin; I had one minute left with no strength or energy to push that little bit extra. As soon as the timer showed 30mins, I stopped and I was gasping for breath. Finished 30:00 mins with 3.82km covered. I forced myself to stand upright and start walking, and I did so until my watch said I had reached the 5k mark. By doing so I have now set my next target, I now know the point I need to reach. This could take another 9 weeks (or more!) …. 
…. I’m a plodder!!!
Over these past 9 weeks I have learned the following:
• My nose still runs like a tap, not nice!
• I have no control over my breathing, I still pant like a dog!
• My face goes beetroot, even more so now I’ve reached the 30 minutes!
• I cannot talk as I run; I know this because I’m unable to sing along with my music!
• I’ve got one inner ear bigger than the other …… I know this because I had to use two different size ear plugs on my earphones, to ensure they stayed put!
• Running for me is a love hate relationship ……. hate starting but I love finishing!
• I’ve discovered that I like running in the rain!
• I love the solitude of the running ..... just me and my thoughts!
• I can now bend my knee and hold onto my ankle, so the doctor was right! ……. I still do my Zumba classes, but I’ve reduced them down to 2 not 3 a week
I’m now going to take 4 days off, run next Wednesday morning and then take another 4 days off after that every Monday and Friday early morning running sessions to commence. Once I’ve reached my target then maybe, just maybe, I’ll look into one of these park runs everyone on here are raving about.
Good luck to everyone who may have just started the podcast, or in the middle weeks, or heading for the finishing line ….. In the words of Laura ‘YOU CAN DO IT’ ...... I'm now off to request my badge 
Thank you all so very, very much x x x
*** Graduation day ***
Graduation Day!! 👩🎓 
Graduation day! 👩🏻🎓 🏃♀️ 
Graduation Day 🏃🏼♂️
I graduated 👩🎓 😍💪
