It’s less than 8 weeks until my debut 10k and today I’m feeling quite confident about that. On Saturday I ran 5K on the road – which is the first time I’ve run this distance out in the fresh air.

I was really pleased, especially as I found starting off on my route harder than usual. I carried on and ended up finishing quicker than I expected and definitely felt I could have continued for another 5-10 minutes.

I’m trying to be careful not to over-train and cause myself an injury, so it’s frustrating when I feel like I could go on for ever but have to stop. It’s good for my motivation to stop while I’m feeling good though, as I’m more likely to want to go out again and again.

I finished in about 28 minutes, which was a surprise. It usually takes me 10 minutes per mile so I was expecting it to take just over 30 minutes. I think the reason for this is the route I took. I know the area pretty well and had mapped out a route which took me down by a nature reserve and a steam railway line.

I expected, on a bank holiday weekend, that it would be busier with cyclists and walkers than it was. For a 1.5-mile stretch I passed three people: one was an older woman and the other two were lone men.

I’ve always tried not to let the fear of getting attacked while out running put me off and I always try not to put myself in situations that mean I’m isolated or vulnerable. Anyway, these two men I passed did result in a quickening of my pace and, luckily, that was all.