Couch to 5k – so nearly there!

Yesterday’s post brought two exciting packages.

First my race number, and t-shirt for The Color Run which is happening THIS SUNDAY and then also my race number for the main 5km race that I’m doing in St Albans just one week later. Suddenly this is all feeling very, very real!

The good news is that all my training seems to be on track. On Saturday I finished the Couch to 5k training programme with a 30 minute run (sandwiched between two 5 minute walks) at the National Trust’s Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. It was my first time running there and in away it felt strange not going along the now familiar streets of St Albans that have been my training ground for the last 9 weeks. I was determined that I needed to do this run over the weekend, despite being away staying with my mum, as I really felt that I needed to keep up the rhythm of running every other day.

When Saturday came so did the end to the spell of nice weather we’d been having and I woke to the sound of rain on the bedroom window. I went out anyway though – and even wore a very old waterproof of my mum’s from the 80s which I think was made before they’d come up with breathable fabrics for outdoor wear! Despite the rain, the wealthy waterproof and the new terrain I was delighted to manage the full 30 minute run without any problems at all, and I even managed to pick up my pace from the two previous runs earlier in the week.

So, that’s it. Couch to 5k training programme complete. So what do I do next. Well, obviously there are still two races to run (or more likely walk and job occasionally in the case of The Color Run) but I need to keep up my running between now and then. I’ve already been out for one “free run” since and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could start running as I left our front door and then less than 35 minutes later return having run over a 5km route without stopping. Ten weeks ago I could only dream of being able to do that!

I’d really like to be able to do my 5km race in under 30 minutes, but to be honest I’m not totally sure if that’s possible. It’s what I’m going to be working towards over the next week and a half, but it may just be the case that when running with other people I struggle to get my pace right. Anyway – that does’t matter too much. What does matter is that I’m doing both of these races for Save the Children.

Right at the beginning I said that I wanted to challenge myself to help other people and I definitely feel that I’ve been challenged so far. The whole challenge has given me so much more than I ever thought it would and I am so so pleased that I took it on. I’m not quite finished yet though so here’s a final push for sponsorship. If you haven’t done so yet you can still sponsor me here. I’ve smashed my revised sponsorship target (thank you, thank you, thank you!) but Save the Children would love it if you can help them even more.

And what’s really scaring me right now is the thought that the next time I blog all about running it should be after I’ve finished The Color Run. This is really happening!