This month's weather hasn't been ideal for running - hot, windy, in other words hard work. The last month or so I've set myself a goal of getting into running regularly and consistently. When it was really hot I kept it short and slow but I got out there.
Earlier in the week I had a look at my stats and to my surprise I'd run over 40km this month. Could I get to 50? This would be the first time in ages I've managed this much.
This morning I was on 44.49 km. All it would take was 5.51 km. I looked out of the window. Raindrops. Had a coffee. It stopped. Had a drink of water, more raindrops. Went outside and checked properly. Dry. Got dressed and off we went.
I decided to do a NRC guided run and found one that matched my mood - 'Start slow, finish strong' with Coach Sashah. 40 minutes starting, you guessed, slowly with a 5 minute warm up, then two 15 minute blocks, each at a slightly greater effort than the previous, then 5 minutes cool down. The perfect run for how I felt.
Conditions were great, about 18C, a bit of a strong breeze but it would be sort of behind me at the end so that was fine. It's a run by effort, the second 15 minutes was on rougher terrain than the first so I wasn't actually quicker but I was working harder.
In order to make sure I did my 5.51km we took a route that covers 6km, out through the fields, back along the sea walls. It's the final day of a sailing regatta so we saw all the cruising sailboats heading to the starting buoy. Lots of wind for their sails today.
The guided run finished on 4.75km so I pressed the continue button and reached the place where I like to finish my runs exactly at 6km. Goal achieved! I feel EXTREMELY pleased with myself
Reward was a lovely breakfast. I felt so inspired I made a hash brown sailing boat to celebrate
Hope your day is at least equally successful