Week 5 Run 3 - very close thing - but I did it! :-)

[Potty]

Hi all,

Tonight I ran for 20 mins This run was a mixed bag from the start! The first 5 minutes were ok but I would have gladly stopped after them. The next 5 were surprisingly easy and I felt good - until, that is, I realised that before I could round the corner and start the 'long hill' which had been spoiling my anticipation of this run, I had the 'shorter steeper' hill which lead right into it! How did I fail to consider it at any point??? The thing is every run so far had fallen so that there was a recovery interval either during or directly after the 'shorter steeper' hill! They were two separate challenges. When it dawned me, more than half way through my 20 mins that I was going to have to do them both I gritted my teeth and began aiming for just the next lamppost. When I started to feel that I was on the verge of giving up, I found myself doing a mental checklist : legs? OK, very OK in fact. Breathing? Heavy but not laboured, would prefer to recover but more than ok to carry on. Heart? Seems to be doing a sound job, nothing peculiar going on there. So must be the mental challenge then... Making me feel mildly nauseous? No, that'll be the hill... Oh, here's the corner! Oh, I'm on the flat! Just 2 more minutes? I CAN run 2 minutes. What? Finished? Really? I did it! I DID IT!! I DID IT!!!!

Smile took a while to form - teeth were still gritted - but now it goes from ear to ear

[RunningBoo Graduate]

Yay! You did it! I love the idea of 'just heading to the next lamp-post', you can trick yourself to get further that way. I remember that I couldn't believe I'd actually managed to run 20mins straight on Week 5. It's a great feeling isn't it?

[Melly2 Graduate]

Well done! Your mental checklist technique is very good, you proved to yourself it's all in your head. And keep at it with the hills, it will pay off when you graduate and run longer, they will be breeze!

[Hidden]

really well done Potty with hills too hopefully that smile is with you for the rest of the day now great effort

[poppypug Graduate]

Well done Potty , you did really well and hills too !

Fab stuff, keep going ! xxx

[Hidden]

Great ! Very well done with the hills and all.

[Topo Graduate]

Fantastic. Well done - you've done the hardest thing, which is overcome the head gremlins. Not easy, especially on hills. Keep posting.

[Ladyidle Graduate]

Yes you did it! Well done. I love your checklist as I have a similar one. Good luck with wk6!

[AndyD Graduate]

Well done Potty... good to get that one in the bag