I went for my outdoor run with the other Laura, who runs a beginners running "group" - except that she and I make up the entire group at the moment ! It's shame because she is lovely and very encouraging.
Again, it there were lots of steep bits to run up - there just aren't many flat places to run for any distance here, unless you just go round and round a football pitch or something equally uninspiring. Laura set the pace and decided when we should stop for a walk. Her running pace is noticeably faster than I would go on those runs where I know I'm not allowed a break for 28 minutes so it was quite challenging in places and I did slow down a lot for hills. She seemed impressed that I was going faster and longer than before - I knew I must have improved but it's nice for someone else to notice ! I was pleased that at no point did I have to stop running before Laura said I should, even though it felt quite tough at times. I think I've got a touch of hayfever at the moment so each time we broke for a walk I was having to blow my nose before setting off at a run again !
I didn't really have any idea how far we had run as it was a slightly different route to the usual one so I was really pleased to check the MapMyRun app on my phone and find we'd covered 3.91 miles in 47 minutes - that's 6.29km. I know it isn't terribly quick but given the steep hills we'd run up I was more than happy with that. I'd certainly worked hard on those hills and my speed was flagging later on in the run - but I felt I'd met the mental challenge of overcoming my waning energy levels.
I went to the gym afterwards - gosh, that was a struggle - but I did the usual program I've been set (missing out the crosstrainer - I didn't think that was necessary after my run!) and I now feel rather worn out but happy-bouncy inside
I think a Park Run might be on the agenda soon...........