Nearly 4 months of training leading up to the race for life, running 3 times a week (most of the time) reaching a 5k personal best of 30.59 at the parkrun a couple of weeks ago. Was it worth it you ask?...totally!! It was race day on Sunday and to be perfectly honest I was genuinely nervous. We all really wanted a pb and I was desperate to say I'd done it in less than 30mins, but I didn't think I was upto it yet and dreaded the disappointment of not quite making it on the day.
Typically it was a roasting hot, muggy day...just what you want for running :-/ We all met up and followed the crowds. People had turned up in the thousands to run,jog and walk to raise money for cancer research and there were some tear-jerking stories and reasons for participation pinned to peoples backs. We decided to join the joggers, thinking that it might be nicer for us to be overtaking people than being overtaken constantly! However, when we started the race, we weren't sure if we regretted our decision...it was chaos! There were people sprinting one minute and walking the next, which caused a few near collisions and we must have spent the first 2k weaving in and out of everyone trying not to get tripped up. Getting personal bests seemed like a bit of a pipe dream though as we couldn't find enough space to pick up the pace at all. It settled down after a while and finding a bit more leg room was manageable but I didn't want to push too hard, too soon and not be able to finish the race running! So I kept a steady pace until I saw the 4k sign and then I tried to pick it up a little bit, saving as much energy as I could for a sprint finish. The whole run didn't feel spectacular, or very fast at all so when I crossed the finish line after 27.25 I was in shock but total relief!! I had completed my own challenge and not even just by a little bit! I had smashed my pb by 3 and a half minutes and as you can see, completed 5k in under 30mins for the first time!! Helena, Fi and Chrissie all got under 30 minutes and Emma achieved personal best as well at 31mins! I'm so very proud of all of the 'couch potatoes' and I reckon we have officially outgrown our name ;-)
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