W7R1..."oh the weather outside is frightful..."

[LEDruns]

W7R1 – well now, last week was a really demoralising one for me for no particular reason. I'd read all the grave warnings about W6R1, I went out with caution and, as a result, had a good run but the rest of the week was hideous. W6R2 and W6R3 – no rhythm, lead legs, enthusiasm gone and I felt so sad about it, I knew I didn't want to give up on C25K but I had developed an overwhelming fear of impending failure...

A weekend's rest brought me to this morning and given today's weather forecast I decided to go for a post-schoolrun run instead of my usual 'no-one's around 6.30am affair'. I decided to go across the fields which I haven't done since Wk3, I thought the mud would have firmed up nicely with the frost and it would make a change from tarmac. The wind seemed pretty bad and it was clearly chilly but I felt inspired to beat it...

Mud, mud and a bit more mud, 30mph headwind (with 76mph gusts) and 2 degrees... equalled total exhilaration! Don't get me wrong, running in mud was definitely a different kind of hard work and I had a stitch within the first 5 minutes because I literally couldn't get the air that was smacking me in the face to make its way in an orderly fashion to my lungs! Then, at some point after Laura's 5 minute chat but before the 12.5 minute marker my MP3 player decided to skip back to the start... maths isn't my thing at the best of times but I can't tell you how much effort it took to try to work out where I'd need to listen to to get roughly to the 25 minute bell!

Anyway, it's done. I'm home with a daft grin on my face, just 7 weeks ago I genuinely struggled with the 1 minute runs, C25K is incredible. Good luck to all those facing their winter weather today!

[HeleneCorsa Graduate]

What a great post! Glad you had a good comeback after a couple of letdowns. I think some runs are just better than others but it's so hard to predict which they will be, or what exactly you will enjoy/dislike the most. I've often found that those I've had low expectations of, or that have started out badly, have turned into the best. And then a really grotty one can pop up out of nowhere and knock you sideways.

It seems to me that it's normally weeks 6 or 7 that can be trying for many people, whereas normally 8 and 9 go more smoothly - just my impression reading the posts on here, and of course I may be wrong.

[Anthie Graduate]

Weeks 6 and 7 can be killers! I did struggle on week 7 (at the time though it was very warm for the season). So great job you did and if you are enjoying running in those awful conditions, mud and all, nothing will stop you even when you feel you're having a hard time finishing. Go for it!

[Cornet-Carolyn Graduate]

Well done, your run sounds awesome and I am impressed at your resolve to get out there. Loved your inspiring post 👍

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

.... and the run is quite delightful,

And since you're going steady and slow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.!

Well done you!