Blimey, that was hard. Dead hard. But....I did it. RUN #2 of My Asics Half Marathon Plan is DONE! But the wind.......oh my God, those gale force winds, blowing me backwards and trying to destroy my mental efforts.
The idea of this "build up run" was to start slow, then go a bit faster, then a bit faster again over 8K, but maintaining your speed each time you step on the gas. As FrockyHorror (great handle that!) explained to me on a previous post, this is extremely hard to do. You can see by my times that I only really cracked it on K's 5,6 & 7. But that bloody gale in my face stopped me from romping home in a glorious final K! Never mind, I'm glad to have done it. Also, it's nice to have a "PLAN" to follow as it gives you a little bit of structure to your running life.
I was well rested this morning, having slept well and my body had been fuelled the night before with a gigantic bowl of rigatoni and vegetables (that I made - to give Mrs Dan a rest from cooking.) I opened my birthday cards, mulled over how being 52 was going to affect my run then instantly banished all negative thoughts from my head. Popped on the lycra and drank a glass of sludge from the juicer (various vegetables and ginger root) before telling Mrs Dan that I was off. It was sunny and gorgeous (but windy) so I put a pair of shades on and was glad I did as some portions of my route was in blazingly bright sunlight.
There were no interesting things to report on the run. The only weird thing was how low the Thames was at Richmond Lock. It was SO LOW, there was even a sort of shingly beach on show which I've never seen before. Normally you never see the stony river bed, so that was interesting. Lots of ducks quacking today and even some noisy geese too. But sadly, no strange humans making any odd noises!
My legs and general demeanour was good despite a tiny twinge'ette in my right groin. I tried to remember to shorten my stride and widen my gait a bit and this helped. Breathing was great and didn't get noisy until around 6K when I was stepping on the gas, but I took in huge gulps of oxygen and imagined it flooding my blood with energetic molecules, to keep me going.
Because of the effort I put in today I felt slightly nauseous when I got home, but this soon passed after a glass of water. I think I should have taken some water with me on the run and will do in the future I think. However I DID manage to remember tissue to blow my nose into! HOORAY!
Right, off to buy groceries with Mrs Dan now then later, it's up to Covent Garden for a birthday din dins with Mrs Dan in a fancy restaurant! Yeeeahhhh!!
Thanks for reading. Keep running and smiling.
Yer pal
Dan.
Written by
danzargo
Graduate
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
That was quite some run, especially in the circumstances! I ran by the Thames too, albeit somewhat further upriver.
You're a braver soul than I. I should have been out this morning but the 50mph winds predicted had put me off - not to mention a late night meaning I would have had about 4 hours' sleep!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Enjoy your evening and basking in your post-run/undefeated-by-wind glory xx
in reply to
Also - LOL and LOL again at the tags for this little story haha!
"Cracked it"? You were running at the same pace at the end as you were on the 3rd Km! Rather than blaming the wind, why don't you just admit that you gassed yourself on K7?
Yes it was a bit windy, yes it is your birthday and yes you didn't bring any water but you are going to have to knuckle down and show some discipline.
C minus, at best, for that effort.
Have a nice dinner, hopefully Mrs. Dan will give you a good talking to.
Sorry Sir! I'll try harder next time Sir! Hahahaha!! You are most probably right - K8 was bloody hard cos of the wind, but mostly because I WAS tired. I'll take C minus though....
Well done Dan! Not flippin easy running in gales. It sucks the air out of you somehow or other. Bah
Many happy returns. Being 52 is fine. Don't worry. Greying at the temples adds distinction to your barnet fair. My greying husband bought some jollop online to make his hair blacker ' n a crow's wing. Shortly afterwards he began to have palpitations!!!!!!! Not because he was so taken aback by his young-looking locks but because he'd had a reaction to an ingredient in the hair dye. The doctor got to the ROOT of his problem straight away. Apparently you supposedly put this stuff on very carefully and don't chuck it over your head whilst having a shower. Afterwards his chest hair looked like a wig. He started swinging through the trees too but that's another story
Enjoy your swanky meal out!
Happy Birthday, Dan!
That is a fab first attempt at a build-up and in these winds it's even more impressive!! I reckon you'll have nailed it by the time you try it again.
Best film ever + questionable dress sense = my user name
Happy birthday Dan! Well done for getting out there in the gales you've done yourself proud there young man. As MissW has said 52 is fine nothing to be concerned about. Have a great evening. I am in London with hubby for Easter can't wait but we may not be quite as swanky as you with your eating place! Keep up with the Asics you will do just fine x
Happy Birthday Dan. Well done on your run. Don't worry about the number thing. It's only a number and I don't fancy the alternative. Didn't you know that 52 is the new 42? And how many 52 year olds can run the distances and times that you can? Exactly.
Have a lovely yummy dinner tonight with Mrs Dan and mull over what you have achieved in the last year.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
W9R3 - Sleet, gales, laughs and smiles
Week 7 IN THE BAG! Had bad wind...
W5r1 🐌🐌blown backwards by the wind !! 
I ran 8K tonight!!! :-) :-) :-)
