C25K Week 5 - I did it!!

[bexbridge]

I know! Can't quite believe it myself!

To anyone watching me do my Week 5 Run 3 yesterday afternoon, it may have appeared that I was almost running on the spot, but distance is not a priority with me at this moment in time. I may not run far, I may not run fast, but I can (very) light jog for 20 minutes without walking and that is a massive achievement for me.

Of course, trying to dance around the oodles of puddles and not slip over on the mud was hard enough, but I had also forgotten to do up my tracksuit bottoms. Very tricky to keep focussed and to keep putting one foot in front of the other when you having to hoist your trousers up every 2 minutes, lol. And of course, the wetter they got at the bottom, the more they kept dragging down. At least I saved my dignity though and fortunately there was no-one else around anyway. And I remembered my sports bra this time, so that was one less thing to worry about!

I am now determined to make it. Once I can run the 30 minutes I will concentrate more on distance. My 7-year-old runs a 5k in 30 minutes and I would love to be able to do it with her, that's my whole reason for putting myself through this in the first place. My husband told me that the place I want to run to (there and back) would be just under 6k, that's my long term goal because then I know I could do the 5k a bit easier. Of course, he also said,

"Hmm, that's a long way though, not sure you'll be able to do that".

Bloody cheek! He's on Week 8 and every run he comes back from I have to be told how far he went, how many calories he burnt, where he ran too. I know he's fitter than me, I know he can run further than me, I don't need to be told all the time. Reminds me of how it was drummed into me that my sister-in-law would be such a fantastic mother because she'd been a nanny for so many years. Turned out that she's a good Mum, but no better than the rest of us and absolutely useless in the first few months because she needed someone to tell her what to do and when to do it!

Anyway, negativity aside now. This has been a really great week for me (despite being told that my temporary contract isn't going to be renewed so I'll be out of work again after Easter), and I am now looking forward to next week and feeling positive instead of frightened. I can do this!

Good luck to everyone else whatever stage you're at. Happy running!! x

[greenlegs Graduate]

You are a star! You'll get there too. (Sometimes having someone think you can't do something works even better than people encouraging... You show him!)

Slow and steady wins the day!

[jenniej Graduate]

Well done! The W5R3 is a real turning point and a massive achievement. You're well on the way to achieving your aim of that 6k run. Good luck!

[Tessietwo Graduate]

Well done, week five is hard! My kids are so embarrassed that their mum goes out running, I''m determined to show them. You can do it and it is good to have a goal. Good luck for week 6.