Week 8 run 1 - thank you for giving me a talking-to!

[Stealthrunner]

I did it! After my downright awful run 3 in week 7, as described in a previous blog post, I had serious doubts about tackling week 8. But after some sensible person pointed out to me that it was, after all, only an extra 3 minutes, I decided to give it a go this morning. Really enjoyed my run and the feeling of relief that I managed it, even though my shout of glee at the end caused a stampede among the cattle in the field I was passing.

I think one of the problems with that last run in week 7 was that, for the first time, I tried to get back to the starting point again, rather than end up in the middle of no-where and have a long walk back home. I turned when Laura announced the half-way mark, and all I could see was how far I still had to go before I could stop running. Today, I kept running past the half-way mark, spotted a sign for a wildlife reserve I didn't even know existed, headed off that way to explore and kept going down this quiet lane through beautiful countryside. OK, I did have a walk of probably almost 5 k back home again, but I seem to cope better with this.

At the risk of sounding like an actress at an Oscars ceremony, I must also thank those who suggested the Karrimor Xlite running jacket. Wore it for the first time today, with the sleeves removed, and was so much more comfortable in the wind. If you're going to end up with a long walk back when your clothes are a little bit on the damp side from perspiration, a windproof jacket really makes all the difference!

Funny event of the day: when I was just past the half-way mark, I was overtaken by one of the young blokes from the village. He steamed past me with a remark to the effect that he'd heard I'd started running and had come out to show me how it was done, before disappearing round the corner. I wasn't too bothered, since he's a regular runner and is young enough to be my son, so I just kept going round the corner and up the hill beyond it. Found him at a stand-still at the top of the hill, puffing and panting. Obviously I was very gracious about it as I gently jogged past..... yeah right! Couldn't help flashing him a big smirk in passing. Sometimes, the tortoise WILL outrun the hare!

[AliB1 Graduate]

Big cheer for the tortoise! I think I would have had to say something as I went past!!!

[Stealthrunner in reply to AliB1]

Would have loved to, but I couldn't spare the breath! LOL

[Bxster Graduate]

Oooh the fool hardy youth... Back the tortoise every time

[Tapira Graduate]

Well done from a fellow tortoise! We week-8ers can do it!!

[Mirella Graduate]

Superb

[sfb350 Graduate]

Well done ! Isn't it lovely not to have to try and run a loop ? Although usually I don't have enough time to do that, today I ran all my 5k before thinking about how I was going to get home, then had a lovely woodland walk/run/dance on the way back. It meant I was out for an hour & twenty minutes so it's a treat for the weekends really

[TJFlute]

A great post!

[toriwoo]

Brilliant post - well done on a very gracious victory!