Last night I went to bed feeling nervous about this run. Of course. Every time I remembered I had to do it, my stomach would constrict.
I woke up at 7 this morning and thought I might as well get up and go out and have a go while it was quiet. And it was quiet. Barely a soul about.
The gremlins paid me a visit surprisingly early, just a couple of minutes in when I'm usually feeling nice and fresh and loose. This wasn't a good sign as I never struggle early on. But I ignored them, focused on breathing deeply and just kept going and Laura told me my first 5 minutes were up. A couple of times in the first half the temptation to stop was almost overwhelming. It was like there was the thinnest flimsiest wall or curtain between stopping and keeping going and it would be the easiest thing in the world just to push through that curtain and stop. I told myself I would only have to do the run again. I thought of all the people here who had done it. I stopped thinking about stopping, and focused on getting to the next staging post. Every time I felt I was tiring, I took some deep breaths and slowed down.
At 10 minutes I was beginning to sweat but the gremlins had been vanquished. At the next time check I knew I would only have 5 more minutes to run. I felt like I could do this.
At 15 minutes I felt like a boiling jelly in human form but I knew I only had to run for another 5 minutes; eminently doable. Also, my favourite song from Laura's dodgy playlist came on (the indie-ish one) which gave me a boost. Over the main road I went, back on to the street that would take me home. This little stretch is a bit tough as it inclines slightly, but I've run it so many times now it held no terrors. Two minutes to go; round the mini roundabout I went, onto the flat street. I picked up the pace a bit. I was expecting a 60 second time check, but it didn't come. I kept going. Then Laura told me to slow down. There was a bus stop a few metres ahead so I kept going for a few extra seconds until I'd reached it. I'd done it 😄😄😄😄
I felt briefly lightheaded when I stopped. I don't know if that was euphoria of having done it, or lack of breakfast. The feeling didn't last long. I agreed vocally with
Laura that I wouldn't have been able to do that six weeks ago and I plodded home. Definitely took me longer to recover than is has from my shorter runs.
"I did it!" I yelled as I opened the front door. Everyone was still in bed. 😶
Tips for anyone who might have this run coming up (nothing new here, but hey):
Don't look too far ahead, break the run up into sections (it can help to run a familiar route)
Lots of nice deep breaths
Slow down
Have faith in the plan: it really does work
Big thank you to this community. I feel like I couldn't have done it without you all. 💕
Well done! 
The myth of week 5 Run 3
Week 5, Run 3 Reclaimed!
Week 5 run 3 failed :(
Week 5 run 3 YES!!!!!
Week 5 - the dreaded run 3!
