More than I planned

[Yesletsgo]

We arranged to meet Andrey and the Russian running club at 9.00 this morning as usual. Yesterday evening there was sleet so I half expected that it would continue and I might get a lie in but the morning was bright and sunny, though cold. Small pearls of snow or maybe hail were on the ground and there was black ice but who cares about the cold when it's this pretty?

Ten runners set off, with the keen guys quickly pulling ahead. Andrey stayed with the slow runners, me, husband and a Russian lady. She was dressed in a padded jacket and substantial trousers plus the obligatory woolly hat so I wondered if she was going to walk the route but appearances can be deceptive. She just set off a little bit faster than me and stayed there for most of the route. She didn't even break a sweat, while I had to take off my windproof jacket after a couple of km as I was too hot.

About 2.5 km along Andrey left us to join the elite squad which left the three of us to find our way back to the starting point as we only planned on doing 5 km. The roads and paths through the forests all look pretty similar to me so I just followed.

My NRC soon told me that I was near the end of the 5k so I sped up, catching up with and eventually overtaking the Russian lady just because I felt like running quickly. That's when I realised we were nowhere near the end point so had to slow down as my heart rate was over 150 (which I feel as a slight discomfort in my stomach). I let her and my husband go a little ahead of me and then took a sneaky walk while my HR fell to something more comfortable.

By the time we were approaching 7km we were back in town and I realised we weren't far from the end. I told Mr OBK that I was going to walk once we hit 7km and he decided he'd stop running too. I didn't want to risk a fall on the very icy road. The other runner finished a couple of minutes ahead of us and we chatted with her for a little while as we did some stretches, then she set off home while we headed back to the car. As we were pulling away the other guys appeared. They'd managed nearly 10 km while we did our 7-8 km. We considered stopping and having a cuppa with them but decided we'd rather get home for breakfast instead.

So, another 7 km run instead of the planned 5km, what a great way to spend a Saturday morning

[Hidden]

That sounds like a nice happy run.

[Hidden]

Just reading about running in a padded jacket and trousers and wooly hat, made me sweat. Though I admit that last year I also ran in a thin fleece lined pair of pants with a body warmer over my fleece shirt. Have not run outside yet this winter, so nothing to say about this year. And though you set out for 5K, you ran 7K and as it sounds without problems. Well done!

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

I was wearing an M&S thermal top (my go to for cold weather runs, and indeed any other cold weather activity including sitting on the sofa drinking tea), normal running leggings, a running top, woolly hat and gloves. I'd started in a lightweight water and wind proof jacket but that had to come off after a km or 2. How she kept up that pace in those clothes without melting is beyond me!

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate]

Well done OBK! Now, I feel really daft asking this question, but I’m so curious. You are obviously in Russia - what’s the connection? I’ve always wanted to visit but have never had the chance. Your running crew sound fab 😊.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Frenc]

Husband is Russian so we're here with his family. I'm lucky that as long as I have a wifi connection I can work so we don't have to worry about rushing home any more.It's a very interesting country, I've been visiting this area for over 30 years so I've been able to see a lot of changes. One thing that's constant though is how lovely pretty much all the people are.

[Frenc Graduate10 60minGraduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

Ah thank you! I thought it must be something like that but I didn’t want to be appear too nosy 😊. You obviously really enjoy being there, your run descriptions are brill, I always enjoy reading them and seeing the pics. Enjoy the rest of your visit 😊😊😊.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Frenc]

Thanks, that's very kind of you