Well, here we have it, WEEK NINE, RUN THREE! I am sitting grinning from ear to ear as I had such a brilliant experience tonight!
My week 9 has been all over the place. I loved R1, R2 was delayed by 8 days because of a rubbish head cold and R3 has been delayed by another 5 days because of work commitments and last minute hassly stuff which scuppered evening plans.
For the first half of the programme, I had planned my route quite near my house. When I had a less than inspiring W5R3, I decided to ditch that route and do another a bit further from my house. The main reason for this is the long, wide road which I usually finished on. It's long, boring, tree lined and full of posh houses and nothing interesting happens! The pavement is really uneven and I absolutely hated running up it. So I incorporated it into a longer warm up walk, and started further away.
Tonight was no different and I set out for my longer warm up in the drizzle and dark (my favourite weather). I just pressed shuffle on my mp3 player and began to run anti clockwise in a big block from a set of traffic lights. I was really aware of this being my last run of the programme and wanted to enjoy it. The weather was great, the first 1/3 of the run was really lovely and I settled into a comfortable pace. I was running the streets again but all of the different coloured leaves were just beautiful and I loved being outside after evenings sitting in. The middle 1/3 of the run was really strange - I was completely in "the zone", my breathing became really comfortable and I was in my element! At this stage, I was running past some cafes and shops and had lots to hold my attention.
The last 1/3 of the run joined the main road again and I became fatigued as I approached the small hill which would take me round the corner to my starting point. Well, what can I say, all that fatigue was in the mind. I was really enjoying the music, so when I got to the traffic lights and saw the road was clear, I carried on running across the road. I fully intended to stop as I knew I had covered over 5k and had ran for over 30 minutes (from mapping the run out beforehand) but I found an extra bit of energy and decided to continue up the horrible, posh road which I've avoided for weeks. I gave myself the goal of running until the current song stopped, but then I realised I felt great (gotta love those endorphins!) so I continued for as long as I felt comfortable. Out onto another main road, right turn and STILL RUNNING. I stopped about a 5 min walk from my house as I wanted to do a proper cool down. By this stage, I was tired and breathing harder but I wonder if I could've gone further? When I came home and mapped my route, I was astounded and absolutely speechless to see that give or take a few metres for measuring error, I ran for.......6.67km! I still cannot believe I did it!
I am absolutely over the moon and a bit overwhelmed to have got this far. This community has been fantastic; I've really benefited from the support and encouragement from so many of you and I think you're all brilliant Thank you for being utterly fabulous.
Before C25K, I was one of those people who saw runners and thought "I wish I could do that". I was a sprinter in school, so held a very fixed belief for years that I couldn't do "distance running" (which I realise 5k is far from, but you get what I mean), so I didn't try. I kept seeing and hearing about runners and once the Olympics started, I finally got off my bum and went on the hunt for something I could achieve. I stumbled across c25k and started on week 2. Week 5/6 was by far the most challenging for me but it feels like a distant memory now! I only remember the good parts!
I went from someone who could say with absolute conviction that she couldn't run for 2 minutes, to someone who can say with absolute conviction that she can run for 5k. I can't begin to describe how much that means to me and how much I LOVE running.
To all the newbie runners who are starting out, do NOT give up. If I could bottle this feeling and give it to everyone, I would. I feel fantastic and my self-confidence and self-determination has soared. It really has been life changing.
So what next?
My first park run on Saturday morning, strength and flex podcasts, a 5k event in November, a goal to be running 10k comfortably by my birthday in early 2013, and a potential goal, all being well of possibly training for a half marathon or duathlon in May 2013. I cannot wait to get started!
All that's left to say is that I have heard it is fashionable to arrive late to the party, so Gayle, Steve and the rest, can I join the party?!
Thank you Deryn61, I'm proud and a wee bit humbled at what this body of mine can actually do when its owner gives it a much needed challenge! I assure you the 6+k took me ages; I didn't time it but reckon it was over 40 mins. Thanks again for your lovely comment
Congratulations, Newbierunner! You did it! And more! I am so impressed by your continuing to run and doing 6.67k. Hope your ParkRun goes really well tomorrow. Enjoy that fantastic feeling, What an achievement....
Thank you Anniemurph for your kind words! Haha, I messaged about my badge almost as soon as I got through the door after my run so hopefully it'll appear soon
what a lovely blog. Well done and CONGRATULATIONS on your achievement!!
Your blog really resonated with me, I was also a short sprinter at school (junior, not senior) and thought I couldn't run distance. I struggled to complete 2 minutes running 8 and a bit weeks ago. I can't wait to graduate and then start working on my speed and stamina.
Enjoy your graduation party - are you planning anything special this weekend to celebrate?
Thanks for your comments vixiej, isn't it funny how something from school (in my case over 11 years ago) can affect how we see ourselves for so long after? It sounds like you are progressing really well through the programme - we'll be seeing that green badge next to your name soon enough!
My graduation party was 2 glasses of wine at a rugby match, which was great fun!
Thank you canuckgirl, I still can't quite believe it myself! I hope my motivation continues as the weather gets worse and worse, but I think if I reread my blogs and see how much enjoyment I get from running, it should help me to stay motivated.
Congratulations NewbieRunner-what a fantastic last run to week 9, a run you will never forget never mind how far on you go with this. What a sense of achievement comes out from the page! So pleased you completed, after all the hurdles you have had to jump to get here. Wear your badge and T shirt with pride when you run on Monday-show the world that you are a Graduate Runner.
Thanks Pearsey for your lovely comments I am glad I went out of week 9 with a bang; now I just need to keep going! Once I decide which colour of the t shirt to go for, I will indeed wear it with pride!
Yay! Newbierunner! Welcome to graduation! Very well done! It is the most amazing feeling isn't it! What are you going to do about your name? You are not a newbierunner anymore! Good luck with the 10k!
Hi Pelephant, thank you! It really is a brilliant feeling! I think I'm going to keep my name to remind me where I started. What are your plans for postgraduation, now that we're at that stage?
Wow, fantastic blog and massive congratulations! I am so happy for you!
You absolutely smashed that graduation run! I can only hope to do something as good as that. Amazing stuff. You must be absolutely over the moon! Hold on to that buzz as long as possible to remind you of what you can accomplish with a bit of determination and hard work!
Thanks Rollertoaster Yes, this c25k has been a great life lesson in what you can do when you put your mind to something which I hope to take forward into other areas of my life. For now, I'm just so happy - I think I'm more excited about this graduation than my actual graduation from university years ago!
Brilliant, you so obviously had a whole lot of fun and that's really just so important. Hope you've got your bottle in the fridge? And I agree the community here is just absolutely fabby-doo - the support and help here is second to none.
Very well done - I'll toast you tonight (good excuse... )
Thank you Mitts, yes I think enjoying it is my main motivator - I'm not as concerned (yet!) about times and speeds, but if I don't enjoy a run I feel disappointed. I'm glad I was able to pull a good run out of the bag on Thursday. I had a few chilled glasses of wine to celebrate - thanks for the toast!
Thank you OldNed, I hope my blog resonates with someone out there as I got so much advice and motivation from reading other people's blogs when I was starting out. Here's to postgrad!
CONGRATULATIONS, NEWBIE!!!!!!! The party seems to just be getting started!!! Run your little self right on over here and enjoy a glass of bubbly along with this amazing class...we have been waiting on you!!!
What a marvelous blog! The changes that this program can bring to our lives are countless...but what is does for self-confidence is PRICELESS!! you have accomplished an amazing feat...but it is just the beginning!! HOORAY FOR YOU!!!!!
Thank you smhall! And thanks for the champagne! We have graduated, yay! Good luck in your graduation journey, looking forward to more blogs from you and you good lady wife.
Congratulations - I'm just into week 5 and am really started to enjoy it. Like you never thought I would be able to run for 2 minutes let alone any longer. I'm looking forward to the day in a few weeks time when I can post the kind of blog that you've just done. I've got the goal of a 8 mile run in June so that's there to motivate me.
Once again congratulations - you should be very proud of yourself!
I tried to post this yesterday but the site was playing up so here you are - a MASSIVE congratulations from me on a great journey and a brilliant blog. I'm so happy for you and look forward to joining you in the graduation lounge in a weeks time!
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Thank you for being utterly fabulous. 
- the support and help here is second to none. 
I did 10k!!!!! Only started couch to 5k end of May!!
The end of the beginning 🎉
