Whaaaamm.......kaboooooom.......whoooohooooo....are just three of the exclamations that went through my brain as my phone BUZZED, telling me that 10K had been reached. There were fireworks, tears of joy and dancing girls cheering me on my warm down walk........
OK. Back to reality. But get this people. I did it in 1hour 03 mins which aint that bad for a first timer 10K'er is it? I put it all down to the lovely Saharan dust and mainland Continental European industrial fog that's been trying to strangle us all. Seriously though, I don't know how I did it. I'm so happy I could do a mini personal conga!
I'd had a three day rest since my last run. My 51st birthday was on Monday and I had originally planned to have completed my first 10K by this day, but alas, twas not to be. The old legs had been playing up and mentally I just couldn't reach the point in my brain where I could say "YOU CAN DO THIS DAN MY SON!" I'd managed to get three days work (back on the dog film I'd been working on) this week so decided to not run until today and give my legs a three full days rest. However last night when I was peeling myself of the sofa to climb the stairs to bed, I felt the ghastly nagging leg pains which are driving me to distraction. "I don't bloomin' care" I said "I'm going out tomorrow for a run because three days off is quite enough!"
Awoke late, fresh as a daisy. Legs felt oddly fine. Did my hip 'n glute exercises, swallowed a pint of green sludge juice, ate 6 dates for energy, had a point of water to hydrate and I was off. Now the main person in my head this morning were the panthering calming words of JuicyJu - "Don't go fast....keep your speed down....relax and go slower......you stupid great lummox....". I'm one of those men that whenever a woman tells me something sensible, I immediately think I know better - AND I NEVER DO! I should do though, because Mrs Dan is ALWAYS right about things (even manly Dan'ly DIY things that I should be all manly and knowledgeable about) and has made me start to realise that I should ALWAYS listen to women. They know stuff. They're plugged into the World Main Frame and can see through the haze of confusion that men like me just can't work out.
I had not planned to do 10K. No sireee. It wasn't until I'd reached 7.5K that I decided to give it a go, and boy was that mentally tough......
K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, K6, K7 were all unbelievably comfortable. I could have had a relaxed conversation with someone for the entire 7K I was THAT comfortable breathing wise. JuicyJu and her wise "Go Slow" remarks were working. I was hot and sweating like a racehorse, but I was sooooo in control. I kept my cadence regular, made sure my feet ALWAYS landed underneath my body and kept my shoulders relaxed. I picked my feet up for 90% of the run trying to adjust to my new "non shuffle, slip, slide'y" running form. I reached Twickenham and decided to run behind the High Street and then loop back along the High Street, to add some distance to my run. I was at around 5.5K at this point and was feeling good. Got to the A316 and decided instead of waiting for the pedestrian crossing, I'd run alongside the road to the next roundabout nearer home. I used the pedestrian bridge and took a welcome 30 second walk break over it. Continued running until my favourite lamp post and fished the phone out of my pocket to see how much extra I'd added to my distance. If it was 9K'ish, I would run the rest to make up the 10. The phone read 7.5K - OH NO!!! "Ohhh Gawd!" I thought. "I can't do another 2.5K can I? Can I? I'll walk home"
But the SuperDan in me had other ideas. He said "Listen up, you ludicrous lycra clad klutz. Take a short walk break for a minute or two, get your breath back and then go for it. You can do it. Your legs are strong. Your bum is pert. Your feet are craving to get going again!" - HE WAS RIGHT!
"Thank you SuperDan. You're the best!" - I had the mini breather walk that I'd rewarded myself with then set off again and this time had to guess what 2.5K would be. I was running up a road that I don't usually run along, but I was in good shape although I have to say at this stage, my breathing was getting heavy and I was feeling tired. But I pushed on. "Ok. Time to go down there and then return back towards home".......on and on I went. I couldn't resist getting the phone out and looking at each increment of distance I was covering......8.7K........the phone buzzed in my hand...9K....."Come on Dan, only another 1000 metres to go. That's nothing to a man dressed like you!".......9.5.....9.7....9.9......"I'm gonna doooooooo ittttt!!"
10K! YESSSSSSSS! And only three days after my birthday deadline I'd set myself too. How's about that? I am so pleased.
I'm almost at my first anniversary of C25K. 12 months ago I could barely run 60 seconds. A year later and I can run 60 minutes. How is this possible? With determination and desire, that's how. So to all you peeps starting out - don't give up EVER. Your body is getting you ready for the trip of a lifetime....
Happy running folks and thanks for reading......
your posts are really good for making running seem so much more accessible. And blimey by the way. Mrs Dan is a lucky lady: you don't look 51 
My first 10k run!
My first 10K non-stop ever!!!
My first 10k
