I did it! I went off-piste! (Consolidation 12)

[Pnegirl]

Feeling over the moon. After dilly-dallying around over trying a new route for ages, the weather finally forced me to take the plunge. The torrential rain over the last few days meant that the sportsfield would be treacherous so I opted for a 5k shore road route which took me past a small river going out to Morecambe Bay, a few fields and then back to the residential areas and main road. There were also plenty of hills thrown into the mix too, so my first encounter with inclines only resulted in a quick 10-second breather following a 30ft incline just after half way. Given that the last 300m or so of the run is all uphill again, I can certainly live with that little break.

I was so taken by the surroundings and visual stimuli going round that I don't think the sportsfield will get a look in at weekends any more (not so sure on traffic sharing the narrow lanes during early mornings though). There were so many beautiful views and things to look at, I can't wait to head out again. I also was extremely surprised to find that I'd run my fastest ever 5k and was grinning from ear to ear!

For anyone else apprehensive about trying somewhere new, I COMPLETELY get it, but try it when you feel comfortable to do so. You just don't know what delights you're missing out on!

Enjoy your Fridays and weekends everyone 😁 and for any night runners tomorrow, be on the look out for any ghouls 👻🦹‍♀️😱

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Your run sounds perfect

[Pnegirl Graduate in reply to SueAppleRun]

I don't know about perfect but it's definitely my favourite so far. You watch, give it a few days, I'll be cursing those hills haha!

[SueAppleRun Graduate in reply to Pnegirl]

Hills are strange, sometimes they are a challenge to be celebrated, and sometimes they are a a real chore

[CBDB Ambassador]

Nice! 👍🏽

[acountrycabbage Graduate]

Sounds refreshing! And well done on your hill hike! 😎👊🏼

[Pnegirl Graduate in reply to acountrycabbage]

Thanks acountrycabbage. How's everything going with you? I hope the weather hasn't been too much bother over the last week. It was bad here towards the end of the week and is awful today, yesterday was my only window for a run

[acountrycabbage Graduate in reply to Pnegirl]

Good thank you! Hope all’s well your end. Only managed one outing this week due to work (not complaining!) and babysitting my niece & nephew.

Weather has been awful too. Wanted to head out this morning but it’s lashing it down. I need to look for some decent waterproof gear so I have no excuse! It clearly doesn’t bother me once I’m out there.

Fingers crossed there’s a window this afternoon before the rugby starts. Then I can feel good about sitting down with beer and snacks at 5pm 😄

I felt so motivated after a great run on Tuesday, had the itch on Wednesday, already excited for Thursday. It’s a shame life gets in the way but I’ll just have to get used to it 🙂

[Pnegirl Graduate in reply to acountrycabbage]

Oh absolutely, things just get in the way sometimes but there's always another day. I know what you mean about the itch on rest days, never thought I'd get that haha! By the way, that sounds a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon! Cheers! 🍻

[acountrycabbage Graduate in reply to Pnegirl]

Agreed, I never felt like this when I used to run years back. It’s great 🥰

I won’t enjoy the beer as much if I don’t feel like I’ve earned it..! Have a great weekend, cheers!🍻

[RacingintheStreet Graduate]

Well done you , it’s not until you break loose and try something that you wonder why you didn’t do it before 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

It’s such a confidence boost too 👌 I find my goals are more to do with environment, confidence and type rather than stats etc. I think I know my limitations but will strive to progress.

In terms of a personal best , mine to date is Run 8 ( still to post I am sooo behind 😂) but it wasn’t pace, distance or time it was because I went a run in the middle of the morning , in daylight 😱😱 instead of my dark 🧛‍♀️🧛‍♀️ runs, at a time when the edges of the village where I ran were busy with walkers, cyclists, golfers and dog walkers and I did not care a jot !

I felt I just ‘blended in’ to the general activity ..... I was ‘just another jogger’

Your runs are going from strength to strength too so this will now open up a freshness as you get out onto the open road so to speak . Well done 👌👏👏

I often used to think of you going around in circles on your track as I was going round loops of the village in the dark .

We’re branching out ! 😂😂😂🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

[Pnegirl Graduate in reply to RacingintheStreet]

We're definitely branching out! I saw on one of your posts that you'd gone for a run at a slightly different time. I'm glad you enjoyed it and didn't let the amount of people put you off. It's strange, people don't really seem to bat an eyelid. I found myself running and seeing people in cars realising that I actually felt fine and not self conscious at all which was lovely. I look forward to reading either your post about run 8 or future runs too. I'm finding I don't post as often at the minute but I like to pop in to see how everyone's doing and offer encouragement to anyone on the c25k journey if I can 🙂

[Couchphoenix Graduate]

I agree new route can make such a difference Pnegirl and it sounds like you picked a lovely one there, apart from the dreaded incline, which like you I had to contend with on my new route today....I think I’ll give night running on Halloween a miss thanks....sounds way too scary !

👻 👀

[Pnegirl Graduate in reply to Couchphoenix]

Hahaha! Yep, I don't think ghosts and ghouls are covered by tier 3 lockdown 😂. To be fair, I'm kinda limited on routes so I'm glad I finally tried this one and liked it. My other option is to drive and go to Morecambe prom but it can be bitter moving into winter. Might give it a try though if there's a mild afternoon one day. I hope the incline on your route didn't pose any problems. That's my target next time, to run up it and not take a breather if I can.

[BradC Graduate]

Sounds a good run. I envy you the area you can run in😊 I find I can manage uphill much better when I have been running 20 minutes or so and have got up some steam! What works for me on steep upward slopes is to try and maintain my step rate/rhythm/tempo (cadence if you like that posh word😉) and shorten my steps as needed.

[Pnegirl Graduate in reply to BradC]

Thanks BradC, that's really helpful. I tried to keep my step rate steady and had done a couple of smaller inclines already using that approach; that last one just got me though 😂. You know what they say though, try, try and try again. I hope the weather hasn't stopped you getting your runs in this week 🙂