You know those runs where it’s not quite how you expect it to be in your head? It was one of those this morning. I’ve been very excited about doing the “Run with Eliud” recovery run on the NRC app and it finally came round this week. 1 hour. Easy pace. I decided I’d go somewhere flat and pretty and really enjoy it as a chilled out run.
A local lake has a trail around it and that’s flat, I think to myself. It’s very pretty down there. Two ticks out of two. I park in a nearby village and start walking along a lane to get there. Free parking is always a bonus. Somehow I’d forgotten there’s a hill, and not a small one. I got to the end of my warm up walk and thought, “am I ready to start running here?” The answer was a firm No. Just no! I extended the warm up to teach the top and started a gentle jog downhill. I was enjoying it and then…more hills! How could I have forgotten about them. I managed to slow to a tired snail’s pace and crawled up the hill. Finally the lake came into view and I decided I could relax because there would be no more surprises.
The path alongside the lake was lovely and I spotted coots, herons and a large variety of ducks and geese. Unfortunately, the trail seemed to abruptly end and I couldn’t work out where to go next. Weird. Instead of getting lost, I turned back and began working my way around the lake in the other direction. Up to the road crossing and…another hill! This one seemed to go on for ages. It was busy and kind pedestrians kept pausing to let me pass but I was going so slowly I felt bad that they were waiting so long! The path levelled out past a posh cafe and along the long driveway to the road…and the another hill appeared! This one was a beast. The worst so far and I had totally forgotten it was there! I dug deep and kept running which was a great moment to reflect on how I’d never have been able to do that a few months ago. Finally the reached the top and the downhill back to the village was epic…until I hit another slope to get back to the car. When the end was coming, I put on a sprint for the last minute and felt like I was flying. Finally it was done. 9.15km but it felt like another HM run!
This was such a hard run but I really enjoyed it. Absolutely not the flat route I’d planned but super satisfying. Apparently I gained over 220m of elevation so I did well in planning a flat route there 😂 Tomorrow is supposed to be a short speed run but I might take a rest day instead.
Phew!
Fartleks tougher than I expected
I met Jeff for the first time! Thanks Jeff 😀
