Training 13 - completed my first 5k session!

I went back to the route I have planned out today because I was increasing my running to 10 minutes. The sequence was run 10 minutes, walk 2 repeated twice and then a final run of 5 minutes. I was quite motivated to go running this morning, which was good after my last session. I was so eager that I forgot to stretch! (But I hope I made up for that with half an hour of yoga after the run).
What was interesting was how my body is used to the 8 minute run now. It was just as the clock hit 8 minutes that I found myself ready to walk and I had to will myself onwards for the next two minutes. I'm finding that the longer the running session the easier it is to find my stride. I used to have quite a big stride when I was running on the treadmill a few years ago. It is coming back to me, but the difference with running on the road is that the terrain is never the same. I have to change my stride when I'm going up hills and that does affect the rhythm of the movement (which never happened on the treadmill). It is nice to feel that stride coming back, though. I remember how it used to feel like flying.
Another thing I'm realizing is how much this long distance running (it's long distance for me, at least!) is about will power and the mind and not just about the body. I have to think myself through the next 10 seconds of a run, will myself through it, and learn the endurance involved in repeating a similar pattern over and over again, rather than the tactics and changes involved in team sports.
The second ten minutes were very hard. It's a sunny day today and I definitely felt myself getting dehydrated in a way I hadn't before. I was also conscious of not having stretched and I could feel my muscles taking more time to loosen up (I still did a 5 minute walk as a warm up, it was just the stretching I had forgotten about). I walked for three minutes after the second ten minute session as I was heading up a hill and could feel my legs wanting to rebel. The final 5 minutes was a home stretch and was really great because I realized that this was the first time I had completed an entire 5Km route. It still includes a five minute walk as a warm up, so the total time it takes me to do is 35minutes. Today I ran 25 minutes and walked 10 minutes. I feel quite good about that.
I did measure my waist today and found that I have lost 6cm around my middle. This is great as that's where most of my fat lies and most doctors now say that it's the worst place to carry weight. The scale is still stuck in the same place, but I'm hoping I can say I'm gaining muscle mass!
I got home and glugged down a lot of water before doing a yoga session that focusses on stretching out the legs. My knees did not feel like they were taking strain as I was running and I did not get any cramps, but I did notice a few pains in my legs that I hadn't felt before. I don't want to injure myself at this point!
I have two options for my next run: A straight twenty minute run or two fifteen minute stretches with a two minutes of walking in between. The twenty minutes excite me, but after today I'm wondering whether the 15 minutes might be better for me.
All in all it was a good session today - at last!