W5R3 Cheshire Cat has nothing on me

[first_mate]

Woo. Up and out as soon as I was awake this morning determined not to hang about and get R3 underway. I'd been thinking about it and reading about so much over the past few days I just wanted it done.

I'd decided to go back to my route from W4 which meant the steep hill was first up. However, and this may be a bit of a cheat, I decided not to wake Laura up until I was a little further along the road. The result of this was that I was at the brow of the hill by the time the warm up walk was done and the majority of this run would be on flat or slightly downward streets. I was trying to give myself the best opportunity it succeed.

At Laura's request I launched into my jog, her words not mine, and instantly decided I needed to slow down a bit. Remembering all the advice and comments I'd read on here I took it in the 5 minute blocks Laura was announcing. I have to say it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. My breathing started to even out and my legs didn't feel too bad. Before I knew it I was half way through, wow! Keep going, keep going. If my legs started to feel heavy I tried my diversionary techniques again, looking at my surroundings, thinking about what was for dinner etc and it worked. At one point it felt like I had robot legs as they just seemed to keep going.

Then Laura announced I had 2 minutes to go, as I entered into what I thought was the last minute I allowed myself to speed up just a little to see if I could, and to my surprise I did! Then it was over and the cool down started. 'Wow I actually did it' I said to myself. Hubby now thinks he is married to the Cheshire cat as I cannot stop smiling. After all the worry and nerves it's done. I know there is still 4 weeks to go but for me this one seemed to be the biggest challenge. Thanks everyone for your support and advice it felt like you were all out there with me. W6 starts on Saturday x

[Bluebirdrunner Graduate]

Yeah amazing😊..how proud are you..

Its such a great run to succeed at..Well done and good move to start once you'd walked up the hill. Its not cheating its sensible.😊

It feels good when your legs know what to do and your breathing relaxes, this starts to happen once you start running for longer.

Week 6 is a good one too..x

[first_mate Graduate in reply to Bluebirdrunner]

Sensible? me? that doesn't normally happen lol. Looking forward to Saturday

[McFitty Graduate]

Go go gadget legs! That Cheshire cat smile will be with you for a good long while. Seriously well done😀 Getting through this one is a biggie and you've done it... with panache no less. Huge round of well deserved applause!👏👏👏👏👏

[first_mate Graduate in reply to McFitty]

Thank you, thank you x

[AnneDroid Graduate]

Delighted for you! Keep smiling. We all remember that run!

[first_mate Graduate in reply to AnneDroid]

Thank you. It's definitely a momentous one. I totally expected to have to do it again x

[ANewMe2022 Graduate]

That deserves a double whoop whoop...xx

[RainbowC Graduate]

Picking your route is not cheating - it's giving yourself the best chance of success, and that's a good thing! Sounds like a fantastic run - well done!

[KS69 Graduate]

Brilliant to read! It def felt like it would be the biggest challenge (so far). Hope others will find the same as we did

[first_mate Graduate in reply to KS69]

Hope so too. Never expected to do it first time round, but delighted it worked for us both. Now pushing the good will to all those coming up to it x

[CookieM Graduate]

Well done - it's a really good feeling to complete this run isn't it!!

[first_mate Graduate in reply to CookieM]

Most certainly is x

[poppypug Graduate]

Wahey ! Great stuff, Well done !

It is an amazing feeling ticking that one off isnt it ? Go you ! xxx

[first_mate Graduate in reply to poppypug]

Thank you, yes definitely

[skysue16 Graduate]

Very well done! Excellent run, no wonder you are smiling

[melly4012 Graduate]

Well done! It is a big one and it sounds like it was done with style! Great work, you deserve that smile!