Well, due to my faffing around on here and various other places I did, in fact, miss my sunny window of opportunity. Having togged up in a vest (yes, I know, totally mad, I should have known better!) I stepped outside to discover the sun had buggered off and the rain was just starting. There was a little nip in the air, so I decided to put on one of my moisture wicking long sleeved running shirts (still no waterproof, but these tops seem to hold the rain off pretty well).
Set off with only a vague idea of which (new) direction I would run today, with Laura and her cheesy music in my ear. Walk in time, 1, 2, 3,4, 1,2,3,4.... so today we are going to run 5 mins 158 bpm, then 20 mins at 160 bpm and then a final 5 mins at 165 bpm. Off I set, the usual dopey grin setting in half way through my warm up walk 
(is that just me?)
The streets around here aren't that interesting (depending which direction you go), so I will spare you the details, except that I discovered that one road has no footpath and some VERY deep puddles at the edge, which meant I had to run on the very soggy, slippery grass in my road trainers, which was a bit scary given I was trying to keep up with the music! I'm sure it amused a few drivers, and at least they were kind enough to not spray me with the puddle that took up most of the nearside lane of dual carriageway that I found myself on!
I found the rain quite refreshing when the wind wasn't whipping it directly onto my face (I wear a baseball cap when I run, which does help) and it was amazing how quickly I forgot about it. I couldn't even tell you at what point it stopped raining. I can tell you the sun came out precisely 2 minutes from my return home though 
While I was running I had a thought that made me smile and well up with pride - I thought I would share, particularly for any C25Kers who are feeling like they will never get there. You see, I started my journey about 6 months ago. I thought that reaching 5K would be the absolute pinnacle. Of course, I now know differently and I can't wait to reach 10k, not to mention smashing my speed goals at 5 and 10k! But something that never ever occured to me, in a million years, would be that I would go for my run, complete it and find myself far enough away from home that I would decide to jog the distance home. Now I know that many of the graduates do this, but it never really occured to me before just how far I've come on my personal journey. Not only did I jog for an extra 10 minutes or so (and I could have gone longer at such an easy pace), but I enjoyed it. There was no effort. No straining. No puffing or panting. Where did that blustering, out of condition, slightly squidgy lady disappear to? You know, the one that struggled big time to run for 3 minutes and thought her chest would explode if she had to do it just one more time? The one who woke in the night worrying that she wouldn't be able to make the transition to 20 minutes non-stop running? Today was the first day that it hit me just how much I have achieved. I am so enjoying this journey. Enjoying feeling great, managing my stress and enjoying the lovely stories that you all share on here. This has been one of the best decisions of my life Thank you so very much for sharing it with me. This is the best end possible to 2012, which has been a challenging year to say the least. I'm really looking forward to 2013 and to achieving even more, in running and in life.
Happy running and Happy New Year to you all, my lovely virtual running buddies! xx
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