Morning all,
Aussie here with a pre-storm report from SW London. With wild storms due later today it was an early start for the long run today. Light rain was forecast so I was excited to get out there in slightly cooler conditions as this was shaping up to be my longest run to date...
Out the door, SPI belt (yeah, cheap hobby this eh?) attached and a gel or two strapped to it (it's going to be a 90 minute run remember) and we're off after the usual 5 minute warm up... What a glorious morning... on towards Richmond Park from my house and then a left turn up Ham Gate Avenue towards Ham Common and then onto Ham House (following my bike route from yesterday).... On past Ham House and towards Petersham and we're around the 4km mark... it starts to rain! PERFECT, GLORIOUS, COOLING RAIN... not pouring - just that perfect drizzle! On we go... towards the riverside now and a right turn towards Richmond and we're at the 5K mark...
Now it's time to turn back towards Kingston and follow the towpath all the way back to Kingston Bridge (that was the plan anyway)... On we go - this is a well tread path for me so it's easy enough and before I know it I'm at the YMCA in Kingston and we're at 9.5K... no problems yet... everything is working as it should.. breathing is fine, heart rate nice and steady... legs moving.. head up and stride on...
It's about now I decide it's time to try some of this gel stuff... having never done that before I had been warned that your tummy may reject it rather quickly if you're not used to it... Hmmm... not ideal at the 9.5K mark... Ah, I know, I'll turn back up this bike path here and loop around... any issues at all and I'm 500m from home and 400m from the YMCA should I feel the need to make a quick dash! Sorry - TMI I'm sure, but having never had these things "on the run" I needed to be prepared!
Needn't have worried! Phew... I can see why these long distance runners have those gels... wow! 5 minutes after it and it's sugar rush, carb loaded push... unfortunately I'd forgotten I was running 13K today and got all excited between 11-12k as I made my big finish... Doh! About 11.4km my brain kicked back in and I realised I actually had another 1.6K (a mile) to go... sigh... wish I hadn't have pushed quite so hard over that last couple of hundred metres Aussie! Oh well... slow down again and think of it as an unplanned interval session...
The last mile was tough - I won't lie... I was off the towpath and in the local streets... it just felt "boring" and I wanted the last km to be over SO bad... but I kept on pushing myself... I could do this... it was a mental thing... it wasn't like there was a wall at 12km that said "ooo.. no, you couldn't possibly go ANY further or your legs will fall off..." ... it was only another 1000m after all.....
Up past the church (praying it'd be over), past the school (closed thankfully so no school run mums laughing at the sweaty man trying to stumble on).... and BUZZ - Garmin informs me it's lucky 13km...
It's done - my longest run... 8 miles of glory, rain and with moments that were tough... those tough moments taught me to slow it down, speak to the gremlins and get it done... I'm ready for that 8.2 mile race in October and I'm going to have that half in Feb too....
My time? 1:26.31 ... 6:39min/km average (a bit quicker than last week's 12K)... happy with that alright!
I'm rather pleased with myself today... now to fuel up properly on a proper breakfast!
Happy Sunday folks...
EDIT: The tags on this post make me laugh...
EDIT: For those wondering "What next Aussie? Intervals on Friday, 14 miles on a bike yesterday, 8 miles running today... what does tomorrow hold?"... the answer is "I'm on annual leave and I will be doing absolutely NOTHING... Nil... nada... a PROPER rest day awaits"... I may have already mapped out a 15K route though...