Today I was due to run my first 28 minute run of Week 8, but I had entered the Cambridge Race for Life which was this morning. It was a bit later than I usually run and was worried that it may be too hot, but there was a bit of a breeze and it was fine. I put the podcast on, but it could have been anything quite frankly, as I couldn't hear it above the noise. There was Heart FM cheering everyone with loud music, and lots of chatter.
I decided that I would try to get myself at the beginning of the joggers as I planned to keep jogging for the duration (however long that took!). I found myself at the back of the first wave of runners (although I passed people walking very soon after the start - grrrrrrr!) and crossed the start line at about 2½ minutes on the clock.
It was really difficult to get into any sort of rhythm. There were 7,500 runners in the event and the organisers wanted us packed together as tightly as we could go at the start. This meant that there were people who started behind me who also wanted to run faster than the collective and some of them pushed past me and then got in my way. Eventually the crowds thinned out enough that it was sometimes possible just to run into a space and, at other times, to get round the people who were going slower than me.
I heard Laura say that I'd been running for 10minutes. It was probably 15, actually, as I will have run through the 5minute warm-up walk, although I couldn't hear it! I heard her again when she told me I was half-way (she was probably about right!) and at 5 minutes left and 1 minute to go. I didn't speed up at that point because I wanted to keep going until I finished the 5K. I did speed up when I was within a sprint of the finish line, however, and put everything into it. I'm not sure what the time was on the clock exactly, except that it was between 37 and 38 mins (probably nearer 38).
So, I DID IT!!! I DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT!! I was very pleased with myself. I felt a bit sick right at the end (it was probably that final sprint that did it, to be honest), but I wasn't actually sick and I recovered fairly quickly.
I am going to wear my runner's medal with pride for the rest of the day. And, having run for about 35½minutes non-stop, the rest of week 8 should not hold any terrors for me.
I've got my Race for Life this Sunday and I can't wait - hope I can jog it all like you did 
Week 8 Run 1 - ✅ I ran for 28mins!! 💪🏼
Week 8 Run 1 - Parkrun round 2 :-)
Week 8 Run 1 ✔️
Week 8 Run 1 Done -Meh
Week 8 run 1 tough going 
