Week 7 Update and What I've discovered since W1.....a list.

[Carolecal]

Having posted about my less than great R1 on Monday,I can now say that I've completed W7 with two great runs on Wednesday and this morning, buoyed up by the advice and lovely supportive comments I got after that post ,I felt like I was out there with my virtual running buddies spurring me on

I realise now that I was pretty under the weather around the time of the first run and I think that contributed to the rubbish factor of it.

Anyway, I felt great on Wednesday and feeling pretty good now, so I'm staring W8 in the face and can barely believe that I'm at this stage and that I've been fortunate enough so far not to have had to repeat a run /week to date .

Now, me...I love a list and on my last two runs I found myself compiling a mental list of all the stuff I've discovered since starting this thing. I know it won't necessarily be news to you grads out there...you will all have probably experienced these things already and probably blogged about them too, but maybe my list will be a bit of encouragement for newbies and anyone feeling the struggle at any stage in the programme.

So here goes.....Stuff that I have discovered..........

1. The mood boost,high,sense of wellbeing,call it what you will,that comes after a good run -well,there's nothing like it .

2.Likewise,the further into this I've got ,the more energised I feel,in fact I've got bags more energy than when I started..Maybe that's down to all that extra oxygen I'm taking in?

3. .....and on the subject of breathing, well over the weeks it does seem to sort itself out. I stopped thinking about it too much and now it just finds its own rhythm.

4.My legs are starting to look and feel more toned...already!.....Yay for that

5. My weight has shifted from where it had plateau'd for about six weeks and I've lost another kilo.I am fortunate in that I am only trying to lose that final half stone or so ...the one I've been carrying around almost all my adult life and the bit that is oh so hard to shift,but I've got high hopes now I'm " a runner" !

6. Loving this site and reading your posts, funny, touching,inspiring ...feel like I'm making new friends every week and imagine my virtual running buddies out there with me.

I used to be too shy to even comment on a post not so long back,now I can t believe that I'm actually writing the occasional one ! .....but I'm really glad I've done it to keep a record of my progress from W1...it's good to look back every now and again and see how far I've come.

7. Living where I do there will be no Parkruns for me, but I only ever wanted to be able to put on a pair of trainers and go....for half an hour or maybe more,enjoy being out there ...and running.Now I know this is possible.

8. Having got this far and fingers x'd ,barring injury or accident,I know I can do this. Failure is not an option.

Well, that's my list,so far,off the top of my head. Congratulations if you stayed the wordy course !

Just want to say a great big fat Good Luck to all of you doing the W9 Big One at the weekend ! I' ll be cheering you all on !

Can't wait to see your Graduation posts .

[Anniemurph Graduate]

What a great blog! I agree with so much you have written - my legs are much leaner than they have ever been before, my breathing did indeed sort itself out, I have so much more energy than I had before, and the feeling after a run is worth millions You certainly can do this - you don't have many runs left now before that brilliant graduation post you are going to write! Take it easy for your next runs and enjoy them

[Carolecal in reply to Anniemurph]

Hi Anniemurph,thankyou for your comment to what I now see as a bit of a wordy post....it's taken up so many column inches, I'm surprised anyone has bothered to read it ! ....but they were points I wanted to share .Thanks for your support and advice..yeah, I'm not going to bust a gut out there,take it nice and steady,keeping the Big G in my sights. Have a great weekend

[Beek Graduate]

Hi Carolecal,

What a nice upbeat supportive post for all those setting out on the plan! My only comment to newbies is don't be disappointed if you are not feeling the highs that you've described. I didn't at first but boy, once you do they are the most FANTASTIC feelings!

I send you my very best wishes for week 8. You're almost there now - only 6 more runs!

Go! gal Go!

[Carolecal in reply to Beek]

Dear Beek,thankyou for that .Yes, you have made a great point there for all the newbies...I did leave some negatives out of that post as I was a bit of a misery in the one before,but like life , it 's not all roses...but the good runs make up for the rubbish ones.

Have a lovely weekend,happy running

[squaremum Graduate]

Great post, Carolecal. Not long to go now till shiny badge-dom

[Carolecal in reply to squaremum]

Hey squaremum, thankyou for commenting. Can't believe how those weeks have flown by . Fingers x'd I don't slip or trip now !

Hope you have a good weekend

[Scipio Graduate]

Great post Carolecal! You are so nearly there now and I know exactly what you mean - when you get to this stage feeling so positive you just know you will succeed & graduate. You are just a week behind me - I will do W8R3 tomorrow.

Good luck for the rest of the program & keep letting us know how it's going.

[Carolecal in reply to Scipio]

Aaw ,thanks so much Scipio...yeah,it's a good feeling alright Isn't this a great club?

You are so close now ... how exciting is that !!!

Bestest for R3 tomorrow x

[waletta Graduate]

Great post Carolecal. Love the list. Look forward to the next. Good luck!

[Carolecal in reply to waletta]

Hi waletta and thankyou for that. How are you doing ? Have you done W5R3 yet?...would love to hear how you are getting on .

[tor41 Graduate]

Lovely post, you are right it is the best feeling in the world when you have been out for a run, I found the best runs ended up being the ones where you really had to give yourself a sharp boot to even get out of the door. Glad you are over your shyness, we are all good friends on here

Keep blogging, keep running, keep happy

[Carolecal in reply to tor41]

Hello tor.....how does it feel to have that platinum badge against your name ? Fantastic,I'll bet !

Thanks for taking time out to reply.

Happy weekend , happy running

[Feefbev Graduate]

Great post and found myself nodding and laughing along with every point! The amount of energy I have now in comparison is shocking!

Keep it up and good luck for your last couple of weeks! Soon be a Grad!

[Carolecal in reply to Feefbev]

Hi Feefbev, yeah this energy thing is weird isn't it? Thanks for your comment, I certainly will be keeping it up ( though there's still a bit of my brain that can't believe I'm actually doing something....sporty....OMG !).

Have a great weekend ...you're heading for the Big G soon, I think ?

[RookieRunner]

Great post! I'm sure I'll read it again over the next few weeks!

[Carolecal in reply to RookieRunner]

Thankyou RookieRunner,for taking time out to comment .

It can be tough at first,but you will see and experience such changes...it will be worth it.

[Jefna Graduate]

Hello Carolecal!!

What a fab post!! You are so right in every one of your points! It's great to see the change from week 1 to now, the progress is just amazing isn't it?!

Good luck on your final 2 weeks!! I'm cheering you on through cyber space!!

[Carolecal in reply to Jefna]

Hi J, thankyou for that .Yes looking back it is incredible how fast those changes occur; I really didn't expect it to be like this when I started out,its amazing!

Thankyou for your great support.

Have a lovely weekend x

[Feefbev Graduate]

I'm exactly the same........the way I am now about exercise is so very different to how I was two months ago! Yea - final run scheduled for Monday - WHOOP! I can't believe how quickly it's come around!

[rollonsummerrunning Graduate]

Loved this. I haven't run for ten days.....guess what I'm going to be doing in the morning? ! x

[Carolecal]

Excellent ! .....hope you enjoy your Sunday morning run

I take a two day break at the moment after the final run in each week,that seems to give me plenty of time to recover...actually I'm quite tempted to drop down to just one day ,but as I've had no probs or aches and pains so far,I think I'll stick with it for now.

Was there a particular reason why you had a 10-day gap,Rsr?

Thanks for taking the time to comment ,btw,it is appreciated.