My 2nd 10k!

samthepanda

After losing 5 stone, and discovering I could quite enjoy exercise, I have become a runner. Now i'll never run a marathon and i'll never be fast, but I enjoy it. I started with a running group at my gym, and then it dwindled and now I have a great running partner (one of that original group), and we go out twice a week doing 3-5k. Last year I did my first 10k in 59:01, with the support (and at the end a lot of shouting!) from the leader of the running group! When I signed up for the same race again I hoped to better that time but then in March I got pneumonia. For 4 weeks I could do nothing, walking my daughter to school was a 45 minute round trip (its less than half a mile) and I needed a long lie down afterwards.
At the end of April I ran a very slow kilometre, it felt so, so hard, but I was so happy to be back out there. I was amazed how much I missed my exercise, it's my stress reliever, my time without family (much as I love them), when all I need to think about is one foot in front of another. My running partner has been fantastic - happy to go on shorter and slower runs, being patient if I needed a break, not freaking out when I overdid it on our first 2 miler and nearly passed out! 4 weeks ago we did our first 3 miles, and then a 3.5 and I decided that I would run today, and I could get close to 1:10 I would be very happy,
Well, today was race day and (with the support of my lovely running parter) I managed to complete the race in 1:04:41! We did a fast 9th k, and I was starting to struggle by the last half, but then I saw the pacer for 1:05, and I knew I wanted to stay close. I wanted that 1:05 and that gave me the spurt to keep going when I was ready to slow!
Never, ever give up. We are capable of more than we know.

Madux1818

Fantastic, first for the weight loss and then for completing a 10k! You are such an inspiration to those of us who are still on the journey. So what are your goals going forward?

katharmonic

Awesome! Congratulations. That's a great time for a 10k, even if you didn't have the challenge of recovering from pneumonia.

I'm a beginning runner and I love it too - never thought I would! I'm training for my first half marathon. Never say never

samthepanda

Thanks guys.
Madux1818 - future goals. Well, not getting pneumonia again would be good! But seriously, I'd like to do a 10k in 57 minutes, and i'd like to manage a 10 mile run. I'll never be a marathon runner for many reasons, but especially at the moment I have small children and I cant get the time to get the miles in that I need.
Good luck with the training for the half Katharmonic . Its addictive this running lark isn't it!