Run, Forrest! Run.

[Idolitorus]

Now I said I wasn't going to do it but I'm afraid I have a confession.....I did.

I was just going to stick to the 25 minutes tonight but work was quiet this afternoon so I had a bit of a play about on

walkjogrun.net/

It's like MapMyRun and I looked at possible 5k routes around where I live. I was thinking about Laura's advice regarding changing the route to help keep it fresh. Some other users had made up routes, one of which passed right by my house, so I had a bit of a fiddle with it, to see if I could get it to 5k.

Very nice I thought. A bit more interesting than just looping round to the shop and back twice, plus it incorporates part of a route I had dallied with before.

So I started week 7 run 2. I know, I thought, I could follow part of the new route I had planned - just for the 25 minutes to see how far I could get. Just for a bench mark.

Started off nice and slowly, taking the advice to use the first few minutes of running as part of the warm up routine. Would you believe it, there I am plodding along like a snail with a flat tyre when this fit young thing comes bounding toward me like the Roman god, Mercury. Hmmph.

He goes past. I carry on.

5 minutes later, I am starting to warm into it and I'm doing OK thank you. When blow me, fit young thing comes breezing past from behind me. Where the hell did he come from? He was going the other way before! How fast is he going??? Hmmph. Carry. On. Going.

Well, I get to a point where I am quite a way from home and I have 5 minutes left and I think to myself, should I just carry on and close the loop for the 5k? Seeing fit young thing had rattled me slightly.

So, as Forrest said, 'That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did.'

I just carried on going. Not very quickly but I carried on. Eventually, I reached the bottom of my road, where I slowed to a walk and used the last uphill section as my warm down.

I have just double checked the route, 3.22 miles which is 5.1km. It took all of the week 7 podcast and the beginning of week 8's which is just over 40 minutes.

Bloody hell 5km is a long way.

Queue warm down stretches followed by the most luxurious long shower. I think my running kit walked itself to the washing machine.

Bloody hell, 5 km really is a long way! We do this for fun? What do we do for punishment?

Tell you what though, what a wonderful sense of achievement it is.

I have never run. Certainly not for pleasure. To catch a train if I had to, then sweat terribly and regret it whilst I caught my breath.

Doing this has spurred me onto continue and do even more. To this end, my son and I are going to return to Tae Kwon Do this week. We stopped several years ago. During a competition, even though it is technically non-contact, an over enthusiastic thrown punch, timed with a kick coming the other way, resulted in two broken ribs which kind of put me off. But we are going back. Onwards and upwards.

Hey. I'm batman.

[Glossy Graduate]

Wow well done ! That's brilliant and what a great post.

I'm sure Mercury was having a good Nosey at you too!

[Ken123]

It just goes to show that there is more in the tank than we realise and with the right incentive, what heights can be reached. Maybe we could all push a bit harder sometimes.

It was good to see that the whole experience was a positive one and has opened up a once closed door.

Encouragement for us all.

Where is Robin?

[Anaverageman Graduate]

Great post great achievement, great feeling.....

Well done Batman/Forrest .... ( even forgive you the mixed metaphors!)

[gary_bart]

Thanks for the entertaining description. I enjoy vicariously doing other peoples runs like this. So now you know that all the goals are already within reach. I may be wrong, but it might even be an idea to just carry on exceeding the targets like this? Mind you, if you really hammer it when Laura suggests ending on a high, you might find that you need a break before consuming what's left in the legs. It's possibly more beneficial to really give a big last push. Someone here will probably know that answer. Also there's no need to kill yourself.

[Chrissy_b123 Graduate]

Lovely post and well done. The 5k marker always makes me smile. Watch out though, the 10k thoughts will be popping in to your head any day now.

[Purple_faced_woman Graduate]

Your Mercury made me think of the bit in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" where Sam Wilson aka Falcon (the guy with the jet powered wings) is running round the big square lake in Washington DC and keeps hearing "To your left" from Captain America as he runs past like Sam is a snail with a puncture!

Well done - and keep on running!

[Irishprincess Graduate]

Fab post. " I think my running kit walked itself to the washing machine". Ha ha!

Well done on a great sounding run. Batman v Mercury? No contest. Batman every time. It's the suit.

[Hidden]

Haha, hearing about "fit young thing" made me laugh! You've run 5k!! Yippee! Well done you

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Ps, took me ages to realise you were batman in your photo - I thought you were a dinosaur for weeks!! haha

[Idolitorus Graduate in reply to Hidden]

I am getting to that age!

When I worked at the school (key stage 1 and 2) I was asked what it was like in the Victorian times and did I always have electricity?

Bloody cheek!

I love kids. I couldn't eat a whole one though.

[JoolieB1 Graduate]

Very naughty indeed LOL! Must be at this stage of the programme we start to want to be independent! I did w7,r2 - did 30 mins instead of 25! W7,r2 - intended to do 30 again but carried on and did my first 5K! Feel a bit achy and had a long power nap this afternoon. Not sure what I will do for day 3, see how it goes! Julie