On 1 July 2019, I ran my first ever non-stop 10k. I qualify the "non-stop" bit because several weeks earlier, before I'd even completed Couch to 5k, I'd covered just over 10k refereeing a rugby 7s tournament. It was stop start, spread over six 14 minute games, but I still include it in my distance totals. Anyway, I digress; 1 July was the day I completed Ju Ju's Magic Plan, so that's the day I'm counting. The time that evening was 1:19:36.
Tonight, one year on and not including the rugby tournament mentioned above, I completed my 58th run of 10k or more. When you consider the that 4 of those 58 runs were half-marathon distance, I've actually completed the 10k distance 62 times in the last 12 months. Tonight's time was 1:04:51, which is a bit off my PB of 58:58, but that wasn't what I was aiming for tonight given the conditions underfoot following several days of rainfall including some spectacular thunderstorms were not exactly conducive to especially fast running, even if I had been trying to mark the occasion with something "special". The paths that last week were solidly bone dry, are now somewhat squelchy and waterlogged and the best you could possibly describe the going as was "soft".
It was for this reason that, unlike my Couch to 5k anniversary run, I didn't attempt a direct comparison tonight by running the route I took last year; the aforementioned rainfall having made some of the route I ran last year impassable. Suffice to say when you compare the time from that first run with tonight's attempt, and factoring in my current PB, I think it's fair to say that a decent amount of progress has been made.
I'm still marvelling at the distances I can now run and the fact that just over a year on from when I was consolidating 5k, my typical distance that I run on most occasions is now 8-10k. I'm still not sure my legs will ever forgive me though.
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sTrongFuse
Graduate10
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Living where I do, "OMG" hills are pretty much part and parcel of every run (give me a nice flat rugby pitch any day). Well done getting to 9k. I'm sure you'll have no problems doing that final kilometre. The same advice applies here as it did in the 5k plan, just take it steady and don't be afraid to slow down. The first time you run any distance, it's not the time/speed that's the important thing, it's the fact that you've actually done it. The second time you do it proves that the first wasn't a fluke. You can start working on the time from the third run if that's what drives you...
This was so nice to read, the last paragraph sums up your progress beautifully. The 'in built' stamina you now have along with the confidence you can run regularly and at such distances is testament to the work you put in and the power of consistency. Very best wishes for your journey ahead. One day the legs will be rested enough. While you can run, you must!
What a fantastic set of achievements in the last year, amazing distances covered. Good old Scottish weather - midsummer passes so the rain returns. Happy running 🤗
Happy 10k runniversary. You probably can compare it to the first non-stop one... this time the conditions weren’t perfect, but your first non-stop 10k has you arrive not conditioned to the distance too, by definition. Those paths will have taken a lot of energy too... nothing worse than a squelchy surface for that. I don’t think I could get within 6 minutes of my best in the described conditions to be very honest with you... bloody well done!
If I'd run the route I did that first time, I would have ended up wading one section. It's a great route when it's dry, but it doesn't take much rain for the burn that runs next to parts of it to flood over the path (as I have previously found to my cost).
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First ever 10k done!
One year on....! 👟👟😎
