The Final Countdown (will things ever be the same again?)

T - 6 days until the Where's Wally [alleged] Fun Run. In my massively condensed training programme, I should have been running for 25 minutes solidly today. Reader, I failed. I ran for only 20, which is what I should have done this time last week, but again failed by doing a short walk after 10 minutes, before picking the pace back up.

BUT...

I'm actually feeling pretty good about this last run, because although I didn't go the distance, I did push myself to reach some different milestones.

Look at this...

That bit of running is at a fairly steady 6'30"/km, having calibrated my Nike+ to match my stride. If I can match that pace on Friday, I'll do my 5k in just over 30 minutes (it took me nearly 50 the first time I did the route at the beginning of the programme!)

Furthermore, there's two hills hidden in that run. Two! Normally, I try to run around on as flat a route as I can manage, but today I thought I needed to face my fear, so that the mountain I have to climb on Friday might seem more like a molehill. And do you know what? It actually does! Turns out, I could run up not one, but two hills, with no change to my pace whatsoever... 

So... 

Hopefully I should be able to make at least part of the monster hill if I just chill out and take things 

s-l-o-w-l-y! Bring it on!

And why am I putting myself through all of this? Well apart from trying to get fit for 30, I'm also doing this run in particular to raise money for The National Literacy Trust to help with their work to promote and encourage good literacy skills for both young people and adults.  For an interesting perspective on reading and literacy, have at look at this speech given by my hero, Neil Gaiman, at The Reading Agency's annual lecture last October.

I've quoted the conclusion on my JustGiving page, as it really resonates with me as a reader, a mother and a teacher. If you'd be kind enough to sponsor me, you can make a donation on my online sponsor form (thank you in advance!).

If you'd just like the quote, here it is:

"Albert Einstein was asked once how we could make our children intelligent. His reply was both simple and wise. "If you want your children to be intelligent," he said, "read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales. He understood the value of reading, and of imagining. I hope we can give our children a world in which they will read, and be read to, and imagine, and understand."

Happy running and reading, until next time, adieu!