Graduation Run!... Done it :)

[mrqwest]

So week 9 has actually taken me about two weeks to complete. Not for any particular reason, but some runs have only been 25 minutes so I've not counted those.

Anyway, Today was W9R3. My alarm woke me at 5am and I felt horrible. I've felt really tired this past two weeks for some reason (5am starts and 11pm bedtimes aren't all they've cracked up to be!). I laid in bed for 5 minutes contemplating putting the run off... Shall I do it today? Shall I see if I feel better tomorrow?

But after 5 mnutes, I thought I'd go out and at least try. Even if I don't manage the 30 minutes, at least I've managed something.

Shoes on, keys in hand, music on and away I go.

First 5 minutes were hell, but the pace that runkeeper told me after 5 minutes suggested I'd been doing well so I pushed on, 10 minutes ticked by, then 15 minutes went. By this point I was ready to stop, and walk home but I kept thinking "I've come this far, essentially this is the last run of the program... 15 more minutes and I'm done"...

So on I plod, I can tell I'm getting slower and then the Runkeeper stats remind me. Ugh, stop mocking me!!!

20minutes done... still going.

25 minutes done, and I've just run past the 4km mark. nearly there, I can taste it!

28 minutes and I'm ready to stop again but no no no!

beep boop - 30 minutes (wooo!)... distance, 4.6km... no way am I going to let the last run of the course not reach 5k so I pushed on, round a corner and saw some really flat ground.

Kicked it down a gear and upped the pace and I hit 5k with a time of 31min 26s. and I beat my personal best by 6 seconds!

So a triumphant morning for me, ecstatic to have finished and graduated. My legs now feel like they need a holiday!

Thank you to you all for being such a supportive community, it helps so many people on so many levels with the c25k!

Thank you!

[Anonymous36 Graduate]

Whooo hooo well done to you

What an amazing graduation run you had!

[TJFlute]

Really well done on all levels. Congratulations

[Moley01 Graduate]

Nice one - well done!

[KANdoit]

Great Blog - Well Done - just what I need to make me look forward to week 9

[glendam52 Graduate]

well done what a brilliant way to finish great time on that5k.

Congratulations.

[doggymum Graduate]

Congratulations Another inspiring read for those of us who are in the early stages of this program!

[frankers74]

Big congrats! I'm currently two thirds of the way through week 7 and am determined to push on and complete the programme. Can I ask you - how do you measure your distance? I'm keen to start finding out how far I've run, rather than just knowing for how long. Any tips on buying something to help me track distance?

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to frankers74]

Hey buddy,

I'm a bit of a geek so love all things tech. I currently use my iPhone when I go out running with an app called 'RunKeeper' which allows me to play my own music but also allows me to set the run to co-incide with the podcasts (ie: run for 25minutes, or run 8mins, walk 3, run 8 etc).

The app uses the inbuilt GPS on the phone to monitor the route, speed, distance, pace and a whole myriad of other stats and then uploads it to the runkeeper.com website when you're done. This then shows you the map of your run, your speed, elevation etc. see the screenshot below which gives you an idea of some of the stats: -

cl.ly/2h071P401R3T2Z2C1u45

RunKeeper isn't the only app available though.

There are other apps available if you have a different smart phone device (such as android phones etc).

If you don't own a smart phone or don't fancy running the streets with your phone, then a lot of people have used the 'Garmin Forerunner 110' watch which retails for around £120. This has GPS built in and will track you as you run, logging distance, speed, elevation etc.

I hope that helps

[frankers74 in reply to mrqwest]

Thanks for the great advice - really appreciated. I have an iPhone 3G which I guess is pretty low-tech by 2012 standards so I'll have to find out whether it can support the RunKeeper app with its piddling memory.

Thanks again!

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to frankers74]

It does! My wife has a iPhone 3G and it works on there so you should be good to go. It's a free app too

[mrqwest Graduate]

Thanks all! Still not sure it's sunk in yet, but so glad I've finished... just waiting for that shiny 'Graduate' badge now *wink wink*

[Nevertoolate Graduate]

Well done on getting up and doing it and telling us about it - really inspiring. Congratulations graduate!

[icandothis Graduate]

Congratulations Mrqwest, great time to

[ChrisMcB Graduate]

Congratulations! Great time for the 5k, you'll be no time at all in getting that down to 30mins. Enjoy building on your great achievement!

[mrqwest Graduate]

Thanks all!

Next target is to reduce that time down to 30mins but I'm in no rush.

I'm also signing up for Park Runs soon, with a view of hitting a local Park run with a few friends soon which will be fun

On a related note, I didn't think it'd bother me not having a 'Graduate' badge as I know I've completed it but who'd I speak to about getting it added?

[notlaura Graduate]

JR21 is the man with the badges. Congrats on your graduation run X

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to notlaura]

Thanks notlaura! I'll go & remind JR21

[wsquared]

Doesn't it feel great! I graduated this weekend with a full 5K for Wk 9, Run 3 and was so excited to surpass my expectations on time.... I finished. I didn't walk and boy it felt great. Congratulations and keep it up!

[mrqwest Graduate in reply to wsquared]

It does feel pretty special! Well done for hitting the 5k mark! What time did you do it in? Congrats and keep up the good work yourself

[wsquared]

42 minutes. Considering I had not even run the distance in any of my runs I was happy. It was hard to get the pace when I started with everyone else sprinting off but didn't really matter to me. I just settled in and did my thing. I used the Week 9 podcast and just ran even for the walking times and finished just a few minutes after it ended.... I've got #2 setup for Sunday morning.