Hello everybody!
That weather, eh? It took me far too long to return home to Southend yesterday after my prolonged stay in London - there were a lot of obstructions on the railway lines! Anyway I woke up and decided straight-away that I wanted to go outside and run. I had a cup of Lady Grey tea - a gift from one of my students - in my brand new mug - another gift from another student - and a fruit bar before heading out. I was wearing my British Heart Foundation t-shirt. The sun was shining and the sky was a pretty blue. I knew that there was a chance of rain, though, so I wanted to head out sooner rather than later. Little did I know I'd be running through the rain AND loving it!!
Without the structure of the plan, I was feeling a bit renegade. Instead of the usual 5-minute warm-up walk, I went for a 2.5 minute warm-up walk - I was impatient to start running!
The wind was blowing furiously, but I was quite enjoying the opportunity to stay cool. The sun was still shining and I was just going along at my own pace, listening to my own music. I will need to add more songs to the playlist as I imagine I'll get bored of the same songs quite quickly - suggestions welcome! 
I had set out without a plan, really, without a goal in mind - I just wanted to run. I think for future runs I should give myself a target, as I found myself questioning why I was out running as I was halfway around my usual route. I didn't really want to run a 5k, I didn't really want to run for 30 minutes - I just wanted to get out of the house, really. I suppose that in itself is a target, and moving around for the 25 minutes I did is better than sitting at home, physically dormant. I slowed to a walk twice during the run - once because I felt like it, and the other time because I wanted to take off my jacket. I think I like giving myself 30-second little walking breaks as I run for extended periods - it gives my little legs a little reprieve from working hard against the remnants of Storm Katie!
Anyway, as I was on the homebound stretch, it started to rain! I've never actually ran in rain before. Granted, at my 5k run on Saturday, it drizzled a tad as I went around, but this was proper puddle forming rain! It was only about for a minute or so before clearing. I continued running, twisting around a little bit in the hunt for a rainbow, as the sun had once again emerged from behind the clouds... but sadly, I could see nothing. It had cooled me off, and as I would need a shower after the run anyway, it had been quite pleasant! I remembered reading people's posts on here about how they enjoy running in rain, and I thought that they were obviously insane - but it's actually an enjoyable experience!! I'd definitely do it again
My posts may become a little erratic after Monday, as I am going to Hong Kong for 2 weeks! I am extremely excited. I can't remember how much detail I've gone into with this, but my partner of 6 years has been living and working in Hong Kong since November, and this is the first time I'll have seen him since then. Of course, we've Skyped and emailed and stuff, but it's not the same as being there in-person. I am planning to move to Hong Kong this summer - hence why I left my teaching job last week, to give me time to leave the country. Anyway, he's bought a treadmill for the flat where we live. I wouldn't mind running outdoors in Hong Kong, but there are several reasons why it's better to run inside. For example, the air quality is quite poor, and especially with my recent long-term cough, I don't want to risk messing my lungs up with pollution. Hong Kong is also incredibly hilly (there's this one monstrous hill just before our apartment which is diabolical), and I'm not so good with hills - yet. It's also incredibly humid and can be awfully hot in Hong Kong, and as a British native anything above 16C is shorts and t-shirt weather! Anyway, I'm conscious that running on a treadmill is very different from running outdoors, but I'm looking forward to the change. I might try and encourage the boyf to do couch25k using it, too - watch this space!
Good luck to those just starting the plan - and I hope that everyone enjoys their runs this week
About to go for my first run in the rain
Longest run for me ever plus first time running in heavy rain!
W9R2 - first run in the rain!!! 
First run - It had to rain
First time running in the rain!
