Early on set contractions

Hi all; just curious as to how labour feels when it starts with contractions and would love to hear your experiences. I'm 39 weeks and am getting painful Brixton hicks on and off since Tue. I know this isn't labour but am curious what to look out for. I have read contractions last no more than 1 min at max intensity - is this true? I know it's diff for everyone but I guess I'm a little anxious really and would love it to start. My last labour started with a show, Bh's and then my waters went so didn't get to experience early on set contractions. Also do you always need to have a show first? Thanks in advance for sharing you experiences (Posted in M&K also).

I didn't have a show, nor did my waters break. I woke up in the morning feeling off. By noon I was having random contractions and by early evening the were 45 seconds to a minute long at regular intervals. By 1am they were very very strong so off we went. LO arrived the next afternoon. Best of luck!