Good morning 🙂

Saturday was the day of the great south 5k, (challenge 4) we arrived at the event in plenty of time and had something of a walk around to see what was going on…and the answer was not a lot, so we ambled about a little more, then went to stand near out start flag and jig about a bit as it was a cool day but (so far) it was dry so we were quite optimistic…

so we were happily lining up waiting for the start, in our designated area learning new dance steps (what else would you do while waiting for a race..) when the heavens opened and the wind was picking up…

by the time we got to start the race we were already soaked! the race went along the seafront in Portsmouth, around a park at one end then back along the sea front. Now, I don’t know if any of you have ever been to a coastal town in the UK in October in torrential (and sideways) rain with winds of 15-25 mph (depending on which website you read) winds, but it is not a pleasant experience when you are not running. When you are running it is definitely a challenge! The wind was side on and slightly diagonal, which meant it was a headwind for the last 2k on the way back along the front. But…and this is the important thing…despite the horrendous conditions, the atmosphere was awesome and we had a lot of fun!! I ran with my friend Lisa who has more energy and enthusiasm then I previously thought humanly possible

She ran and skipped and dance and twirled her way around the course staying with me despite the fact that she could have definitely run off and completed it much faster than me. She definitely cheered me up, as without her the weather would have made this race something of a slog!

As it was I am really pleased with the run! I did have problems with my calves which had been playing up since step aerobics on Wednesday, but thanks to the magic of compression calf sleeves these were not as bad as I anticipated and they loosened off towards the 2nd half which was good 🙂

as you can see, my first km was amazing, I was taken along by the enthusiasm and atmosphere, then it went down hill a little bit, my calves hurt a little and the weather was bleugh for the 2nd and 3rd km. then for reasons completely beyond me, I started to feel better, and despite kms 4 and 5 being into the wind, I actually went quicker and felt better! but overall time 39min 49s was a pretty good result for the conditions.

I did have to walk some of it, but I did notice that when I was running (which was more than walking) I was faster than a few people around me but not as consistent, I ran faster then walked then ran faster (repeat until the end). Maybe this is because I have don a lot of interval training in my time…who knows. By the end of the race, we were soaked through, I was going squish with every step because my shoes were full of water, but I against all odds, was still smiling!

All in all a pretty awesome day, not the fastest time (but at least I didn’t come last) but it has given me something to work on. The main positive I can take from this race is that I felt much better both during and after the race than I did when I did the colour run. I felt fitter and better and succeeded despite the horrible weather!

The other thing I noticed….

I am not normally one for doing weight loss pics etc but I jut noticed when I was looking through the pics from the event, since the 14th September when the colour run was I have shrunk a little bit! This changed happened in 42 days. it is not a huge huge change, but it is noticeable. So what I am doing must be working 🙂

And with that…day 127 complete 😀