Oops - running tourism, not without it's risks! - Couch to 5K

Couch to 5K

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Oops - running tourism, not without it's risks!

7 years ago•3 Replies

So yesterday I completed my first 6K run - entirely by accident! Am staying on the shore of a beautiful lake in BC Canada. Checked out a 5K route (even checked elevations having inadvertently included a huge hill in last week's BC run) and discussed it with locals so I knew exactly what to expect. Got up early (for me) in anticipation of a forecast 17 or 18C and got myself ready.

Only it was already 28C. And the MapMyRun lady remained eerily silent, giving no distance cues whatsoever. And then I found myself on a loose stony beach rather than the path (soon corrected by a short uphill dust path slog). Finally I see the turn-a-round-bench on the point - just as the path rose away from the water behind some trees! So I ran on a bit further to be sure before turning round. Now wouldn't you think it would be easy to reverse the route I had only just run? Hmmm. Not for me! The good news was that I avoided the loose stony beach, the bad news was that I took a wrong turn which headed uphill to the highway! I did turn around and found the right path again. But I was tired, legs flagging and gremlins screaming. Finally I reached the point where I was due to stop running according to my plan. Just an enormous 1k uphill walk between me and a lie down in the shade. Moments into that walk, up pops the MapMyRun lady from her silence ... 7k!!! All in all I had run just over 6k with another 1.5k walk. That didn't quite go to plan

But the views were amazing, I ran further than I'd ever run before and I felt FABULOUS all day.

I do love this running lark Seems just yesterday that run 1 week 1 almost floored me. To anyone starting out, or even part way through the program - you have no idea what you have let yourself in for; not only is the program doable (whatever the gremlins are telling you right now), but running can become totally addictive (in inverse proportion to the amount you may think you have always hated it before starting C25K it seems).