And then the battery died.....

...so I was just over five minutes into the W7R1, feeling good, had changed my route and was feeling as if the 30 minute goal was getting closer when...... the battery on my iPod died. To make it worse I was 3/4 of the way up a very, very steep hill and basically dying a slow thigh-destroying death.

My first thought was, maybe I should just stop, go home, charge my iPod and try again tomorrow. I didn't like the idea of running without music, without Laura telling me how long I had left. I thought that without them I would just be concentrating on how tired I was and only how breathless I was after climbing the hill.

By this point I had got to the top of the hill and knew that there were no more serious uphills on the course I had planned. I was basically running my usual route in reverse, so I thought, I can keep going and finish the route and that will be (give or take) a 25 min run. It was just about focusing on my technique, on the breathing patterns Laura had suggested and on setting my own mini-goals. I found this really helped nearer the end of the run. I just urged myself to get to the next lamppost or the next junction on the path, and I managed it. I got all the way round my route, and what's more, I didn't feel too bad about it.

I think this really demonstrated to me that it is mainly mental. I can do it, I've just got to push myself a little bit further each time. Small but realistic goals.

Also, I'm signing myself up for a (hilly) 5K run in September. *so excited* That should give me a few weeks to finish the plan and prepare for the race

[sfb350 Graduate]

Mini goals are great - I usually end up running past them.

This program is really good at teaching you how strong minded you can be -you've clearly discovered that today and I hope you're feeling really proud and excited.