Yesterday I completed my 401st run since I started Couch to 5k, on the same day that Ben Smith completed his 401st marathon in 401 days for the charity Stonewall.
I hadn't realised the coincidence until last Monday, when I logged my 398th run on Garmin (yes, I'm sad, I always number my runs), and signed up for Ben's virtual marathon. Oh, I thought, I wonder if I could do my 400th run when he's doing his last day... and then someone pointed out that it would be even better if...!
This meant that I would have to get three runs in over the next two days, and run on three consecutive days. Also, I wanted to do a 10k for Ben's virtual marathon (obviously I can't do a marathon), and not only that but I haven't run any distance over 6k since May. Hmmm. I needed a plan.
On Monday I ran 3k. On Tuesday I ran 1.5k in the morning, and 1.5k in the afternoon.
On Wednesday I took the bus up to Alsop Station on the Tissington Trail. The bus driver wished me a pleasant run back as I got off, and I contemplated the task before me. My plan was to run 1km and then walk .25km all the way down. I started with my warm-up walk, which neatly took me to .25km, and set off. 1km in, and all was well. I walked, and ran again. And again. Oh, was that 3.75? Should I be running or walking? My mental maths was not up to this! To add to the difficulties, Tissington, which I always think of as the mid-point, loomed up at 4.47km. What? Never mind, I stopped for a wee in their lovely clean loos and then it was 5-and-a-bit-k all the way home. I didn't think I could run the whole thing, but I managed it with only a couple of short breaks.
I stopped the Garmin on 10k at 1:21:45, which is interesting as my last 10k, in May, was 1:18:51, and that was over a very hilly Chatsworth course when I had been in training for weeks. Granted, the Trail is all downhill, and I did have to walk on the Chatsworth event, but Wedneday was faster than I was expecting.
It would have been better if I'd realised the timing earlier and therefore not had to do four runs in three days. It would have been better if I'd been fitter. It would have been better if I'd been running more regularly. It would have been better if my cheap flip-belt equivalent fitted better and didn't ride up under my boobs. It would have been better if, having come up with a plan, I'd stuck to it. It would have been better if I could add up.
Lesson learned: you can do more than you think you can 
My First Run in 8 Days
Half marathon - too risky?
You have run 10K!!! 😊 What next???
My plan for next year
First 13 miles for Mind
