28/04/2026
As you can see I absolutely FU***NG LOVED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE!!
I wrote 3:37 on the bottom of my shoe - 13 minutes off my previous PB of 3:50 in 2023 where I was running off nothing but emotion, and managing a torn adductor. It felt ambitious and I was just a little upset at the thought of not getting it 🫣😂
I gave myself just shy of 9 weeks to work on my speed coming from nearly 3 and a half years of running everyday, doing a half marathon every month, I had most of the work in my back pocket.
I did tempo sessions every week, ran slower often, ran faster at the end of my long runs to train my body to speed up at the end and increased my average 20 - 25km per week up to 72 - 74km at peak.
I trained on holidays, went zero alcohol, and ate more than ever.
I set my watch to alert me if I ran any faster than 8:05 min/mile to slow me down in the beginning, I'd love to know how many times I heard that alert in the first 30k 😂 it was all about control in the beginning, don't go too fast, stay comfortable.
I told one person my times, 5k by 26mins, 10k by 52 and 30km by 2:35 - if I hit that, I had it in the bag.
I was getting way ahead of them, even she worried I had gone out too fast. It's actually really hard not to, but that's where your head has to come into it.
And my god did it pay off, negative splits, speeding up at the end, still comfortably, and navigating around people dropping off 🫣 I got that new pb!
✨✨✨ 3:33 ✨✨✨
To say I am chuffed is a bloody understatement. Even if I did sob my eyes out.
I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF
Which is lovely to say because I never used to be proud of these sorts of things.
Training paid off, my mental resilience is stronger than ever and I fu***ng smashed it feeling absolutely great throughout 🙌🏻
I could say so much more, but THANK YOU to everyone who wished me luck, I was overwhelmed by the amount! The messages I got throughout, I looked every now and then but mainly to check where Libby, Jess & Ross were, who came to support me 🥰
If past Grace could see this Grace, she'd be amazed by how far we've come.
The support has been INCREDIBLE! So much love, I really appreciate it, more than you'll all ever know 🫶🏻
