I've made it to 4k!

[gwyncartref]

I know that many of you will have graduated running 5k by the end of C25K. However for me 5k is still aspirational as, when I graduated in Oct, I was running just over 3k 30 mins and it took me 6 months to graduate as I struggled and had to redo quite a few runs before I could complete them.

After all the hard work of getting to 30 mins I wanted to carry on running with a personal goal of getting to 5k. I work in a school which is very busy and stressful at the moment so while I am not always getting out 3 times a week, I have managed to get out at least twice week and I'm so chuffed that today I ran 4K in 38 mins. I'm starting to feel as though 5K by the end of the year is achievable!!

I have finally got to the stage where on quite a few runs I feel like everything is coming together, the legs work and I actually enjoy running ( doesn't last long though, then it's back to: just keeping going around the next corner, just get past the bench, you can make it to the tall tree...anything to get me to the end of the run!). I no longer worry about the fact that everyone else in the park where I run is faster than me and that I'm regularly overtaken - I've just started running my circuit in the opposite direction so we're passing by instead - in fact most people smile or give me a thumbs up and that helps keep me going.

So if anyone else out there is feeling as though it's too hard please keep going as I've realised that while I'm never going to be a fast runner and I may always want to go home 10 mins into every run, getting to 4k in 8 months may not seem like much to some people, but it's a heck of a lot more than I could do at the beginning of the year. Even if I can't manage 3 runs every week, each time I get out for a run instead of collapsing on the sofa when I get home from work or get up on the weekend rather than lying in bed is a step towards my goal of being able to run 5k.

[Instructor57 Graduate]

Well done you !

👏👏👏

A great inspirational post and congratulations on getting your 4k.

Always worth remembering, you are having YOUR run , nobody else's .

Oh and only around 10% will achieve 5k on graduation . And I was NOT one of them 😂

[gwyncartref Graduate in reply to Instructor57]

Thanks for your encouragement. It's taken me a while to realise that I'm only competing against the part of me that wants to slob and eat chocolate and that a missed run or bad day isn't a failure but real life. I still eat the chocolate from time to time but with much less guilt 😂

[Bambi2020 Graduate]

Well done to you!! You’ve done brilliantly to make that much improvement . I also work in a school and I agree it’s a tiring, stressful time. But my thinking is that 30mins of running is 30mins escape from marking, planning and assessment and then that sit down at the end feels a whole lot sweeter!

[gwyncartref Graduate in reply to Bambi2020]

I agree, it feels good knowing I've achieved something for me after a long day and as I run in my head I have all the conversations and say all the things I couldn't say out loud in the day and by the end feel much calmer so it's very therapeutic too!

[Blossom- Graduate]

Yay! Well done. I didn't make 5k either at graduation, but did finally by following JuJu's magic plan in 46 mins. So you probably know you can do it, and you WILL! Happy running 😄