Ok, so here goes.../

Hello all, firstly let me introduce myself. My name is Cat, I am a 30 year old psychology student, and a wife and mother of one. I'm a 10k virgin, and in actual fact I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to all types of running! I still can't quite believe I have signed up for this, if you were to ask me this time last year, I'd have become breathless just at the thought of it!

At the beginning of 2009, I was 5 and a half stones overweight, and the only exercise I partook in was walking to the kitchen to top up my wine glass, however, I was turning 30 in July '09, and I really didn't want to spend my 30's the way I'd spent to majority of my 20's - overweight and miserable! I began controlling what I was eating in January '09, and went to my local Body Combat and Body Pump classes at least five times a week. It's been hard work, but I saw results really quickly as the weight started falling off. By July '09, I'd reached a weight I was comfortable at (just in time for my 30th birthday holiday).

I've maintained my weight loss, and I'm still an avid BC & BP go-er, however I'd like to lose one more stone and felt that going into the new year I need a new goal to keep me focussed on this. When my friend suggested we sign up for the 10k in May, although the thought was daunting as I had never ran any grat distance before, I knew this would be the ideal challenge for me. I started training two weeks ago, on the treadmill at the gym.

The first time I walked for 3 minutes, ran for 3 minutes, over 38 minutes (I thought I was going to pass out at the end of each run), but I kept at it and within a few days, I felt confident enough to increase my times. So now I'm walking 4 minutes and running 6 minutes over 60 a minute period! :0O...

Two weeks ago I entered this race with a sense of trepidation, however, I now feel confident that I'll be able to at least finish the 10k, and I'll be delighted if I manage to do that under 60 minutes (I'm even starting to believe that is a possibility!).....