In June I shared a blog post about my starting to run. If you follow me on Instagram you have seen that I have continued to follow the C25K training plan…and I am almost to the end! This week I will officially run my first full 5K! Over the past 8 (ish) weeks I have learned a lot about running and more importantly myself! So, let me update you on it all!

When I wrote the first running blog I was definitely on the running struggle bus. I was just hoping that I actually finished the C25K program. I really can’t believe that I am at the end of it.

I ran through my beautiful downtown:

I ran while traveling for work:

Some runs went well…

…and some not so well!

I had a few runs in the middle where I really wanted to throw the towel in. My biggest obstacle was my brain! I knew that I could physically run a 5K…but mentally was a different story!

The longer the runs got, the more I would wonder…why am I doing this? Luckily, I am pretty stubborn and needed to prove to myself that I COULD do this! I mentally talked myself through every single run…trying to think about anything other than what I was doing.

One of the things that helped me most was to create a music playlist for each run. When I created the playlists I knew how long each song was, and how many songs needed to play before I could stop. I know this seems like a lot, but if I knew how much longer I had to go, I could rationalize how I was going to keep running. I literally had to play mind games with myself!

And if the mind games didn’t work…my last resort was to reward myself with something at the end of the run. 9 times out 10 that meant getting caffeine at the end! 🙂

However, the more I run the fewer mind games I have to play and the fewer rewards I need to give myself. I don’t really even start thinking about them until the last 10 minutes now.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this running journey. I learned a lot about myself…mind and body. Not so long ago I would have NEVER been able to run…anywhere! It makes me feel confident that both my mind and body are strong!

So many of you may be thinking…now that you have conquered the 5K, now what?

Well, I will just leave THIS here….you tell me 🙂