This was the track on my playlist this morning as I reached the 20 mins running mark for Week 5 run 3. Hear me Roar?, I swear you could actually hear me grinning from ear to ear as I moved into the warm down walk having kept up a good and steady pace all through the running section.
I took my own advice from earlier in the week and ordered my playlist so that I would have upbeat music to run to and something more calming to walk too. I still had Johnny Cash and Hurt in my playlist but made sure it was the warm down walk song rather than in the middle of the set this time.
I cant believe how much I had been looking forward to this morning. I like being out when its so early as there is little traffic and the local wildlife is stunning to watch. I had three deer running alongside me in a field at one point today. Would have been lovely to stop to take a picture but Jo was encouraging me on and I was determined to step up to the challenge.
I am astounded, and I dont say that lightly, at how far I have come in such a short time. 20 mins of continuous running was impossible just 4 short weeks ago. Dont get me wrong, it was tough, challenging, intense, but also uplifting, invigorating, liberating....I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
I wondered through this process when I would consider myself to have become a runner. Would it be at the end of 9 weeks, would it be today with the first "big" run without walking? No, it was when I pulled on my old pair of trainers and walk/jogged myself round the garden for week 1 run 1. That was the point where I became a runner, where we all become runners. That very first step of the first run was the hardest one to take, but leads to so many fantastic firsts.
So, to my fellow runners going through this journey with me, ROAR!
W5 R3 tears
W5 R3 First attempt!
W5 R3
You hear that body? You're a runner!!
Eventful W5 R3
