Week 9, Day 2

(Wednesday 6:30am)

Emotions (before):

As I knew I could confidently jog for an entire 30 minutes (woo hoo!), I had to start working towards my goal of 5kms in 30 minutes. I only covered 4ks on Monday's run, so my target for this session was to further my distance to 4.5kms in the time frame.

To ensure I was ready for this new feat, I set my alarm for the earlier time of 5.30am and laid out all my clothes and kit ready for the morning run. It took me a little while to wake up (my usual Wednesday-itis), but as soon as I did I was out exercising in the fresh morning air.

I have also got a new goal to strive for. At the end of March my local area is having a 6.5km fun run that I am going to enter. I want to be a real competitor.

The run:

Today's session was very encouraging. There were no real negative moments or times where I was aching to walk, I just kept going. Yes, I did check the kilometres covered and time that had passed on my GPS app a few times, but that was more out of curiosity than a yearning for the end.

I actually beat my goal! I covered 4.65kms in the 30 minutes at an average pace of 6:32mins/km. I could of gone on and finished the 5kms, but I really want to finish my first 5k in the 30 minute time frame.

I was not completely exhausted or breathless after my run today either. This has given me the confidence to set a new goal - to actually cover 5ks in the last run of week 9. I thought I would need all of next week to strive for this achievement. It will mean I will be going faster than I ever have. 

If I don't achieve the full 5kms on Friday, it is okay - I really just want to further my distance from today. Yesterday, I did not even think I would be in a position to set the graduation goal this week. But, I am so happy with my effort today - 5kms on Friday is my target!

Tips for next run:

• Not feeling it? Just put your jogging gear on, spend a bit of time in it and your mind will soon be swayed into exercising.