I didnt sleep too well last night. I had been to a party and even bought myself some new evening shoes with a low heel so that my legs would be in top condition for today's run. I was also the driver volunteer! Serious business, being a top athlete. I kept sipping water throughout the night to keep hydrated. After a loo visit (sorry if tmi!) I had an immodium(!) and was ready. And extremely anxious!
My race was in Bedford and I put myself about three quarters of the way through the runners queue. Some people stopped running in front of me soon after! I was truly grateful for the training on C25K as so many people ran past me, only to stop and walk and I overtook them. Others had stitches, felt sick etc and I just plodded along!
My family popped out at various stages to cheer me on and I loved that. I found it to be a wonderfully warm atmosphere and the supporters were, well, supporting!
To my amazement I finished in approx 36-37 minutes whereas on my other two attempts, my time has been 44 and 45 mins. It was the power of the people!
It was a fantastic day and I felt a bit tearful when I crossed the line triumphant!
My hubby and children missed me finishing as they were not expecting me yet!! I wish I was doing it again. Good luck to everyone who is !
Written by
hollyO
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That is a brilliant time, well done. Much quicker than me today in Salisbury. Funny you say 'tortoise'. One of my grandsons stuck a tortoise sticker and a crocodile sticker to my top the other day and I kept them. This morning I wrote NHS C25K GRADUATE BLUEBOOTS on it and stuck it to my Race shirt. It is only little but I've uploaded it on my blog today. Congratulations to you
Thankyou! I thought I had spotted a few C25Kers lurking near me at the beginning but I didn't like to ask. One lady asked me if I was in the Runners queue as if to say "You? Surely not"!!! Did you get any comments on your C25K status?
No one mentioned C25K but so many people on the forums seem to be doing the Race for Life that I would have thought there must have been at least one other C25ker there. I've just been talking to my daughter who also did the run and we have decided next time, all things going well, we are going to join the runners section! Yes, the Runners section
Great news. Very well done. It's great to know the training you've done made such a difference to how you tackled the race and its effect on you. The local race was postponed here because of flooding following terrible weather on Thursday, but will take place at the end of the month. I'm not ready for one yet but I might challenge my daughter one day!
Yes, I live in rainy Leicestershire. Freak storms last week with hailstones the size of golf balls so lots of water damage. Good job i like swimming! No c25k for swimmers but I did a 5k charity swim in April. Takes a lot longer than running though
Oooh you must have been near me in all that. I have NHS couch to 5k written on my back and was very pleased with myself for running the whole wy esp as the lOnger run I'd done before that was 28 mins. And I did it in 35 mins so really really pleased. Well done to you too we were lucky with the weather
Oh I wish I had seen you! There were lots of walkers to overtake all the way through - did you notice that? Didnt manage to overtake many runners tho! Fantastic time and you havent even finished the programme! Well done you
Well done, you were amazing. What a great time. I bet you feel really wonderful after that, I can't believe that the people cheering you on makes that much difference. I will just have to wait and see won't I in three weeks time.
Thankyou! Oh yes, the support must have made all the difference because I didnt think about my aches/pains/toilet/thirst at all! I was swept along on a tide of support - and a determination to overtake people even if they were walking!
My tip for your race is to definitely go with the runners (not joggers) because even some runners are walking within a few hundred yards.
Wish I could do it with you
My next goal - maybe a Parkrun but not sure if Iam brave enough!
Well done, good time too, its quite nerve wracking doing your first run but then you just want to do another and another.
Oh you just have to do a Parkrun now its compulsory and they are a friendly bunch too. When you register to get your barcode don't forget to tag
NHS C25Km as your running club. This way when other people check out the website they will see C25K popping up all over the country. Its a wonderful way to advertise a wonderful programme. Really pleased you had a good time.
Oh you've done brill! Well done-I am doing my race for life in Pontefract in 3 weeks eek. I dont currently run anywhere near 5k [week 7] so not sure how I'll get on, but looking forward to it anyway! Good luck with your Parkrun! x
Whoopeee to you!! Well done, you must be so pleased and I'm sure your family are very proud of you. The support and being able to share here too makes it so much more worthwhile and an inspiration to others.
A belated congratulations HollyO - what a great way to carry on after C25K. I'm so pleased at your time too, that was amazing! Won't it be great when we all have T-shirts?
My only wish is that I could join you all. I live in Paris, which of course has it's benefits - but they don't have these community runs like in the UK. There are runs but you have to have a doctor's certificate to join, pay a hefty fee (in my view at least) and I bet they all go for it quite grimly and seriously. Perhaps I'll have to plan a trip to the UK to join in the fun!
Let us know whatl ife after C25K brings, what is your running programme?
Thankyou! Bonsoir to you! (spelling?!) How exotic, running alongside the Seine! Iam seriously going to have to make some post C25K plans. At the moment I need to increase my speed and prove that yesterday's time wasn't a fluke. I think I need to do another 5K or join a Parkrun. Iam waiting for the new podcast too. We are lucky to have these types of runs here. Maybe you could start something in Paris? Recruit only people who are slower than you!
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