After delaying my planned long run of 10miles (16km) on Sunday out of pure laziness I decided yesterday it was time to get my ass in gear and "just do it". Down to the beach I go, it was a beautiful evening and everyone and their dog was there walking, running, cycling, surfing, roller-skating and even some beach volleyball! This is where the parkrun is held and I'd also ran a 10km here a few months back so I knew if I combined the 10km and 5km routes I would end up with a 15km run and just a teeny bit further to reach 16km. In my head splitting it up like this made it seem more feasible.
The run was fairly uneventful it's literally a long straight road along the beach front but the view was nice and I had some music to listen to so plodded on. When I got to the 10km point my legs were getting sore and my music cut off Auto-pilot time! I got to 16km and by this time it was getting dark and the sea harr was coming in, it was chilly. I was at the far end of the beach and if I stopped it would mean walking to where my bike was parked so I just kept going. I was running at a slow shuffle but I didn't feel terrible, I spotted the flashing light of the zebra crossing which was my end point and even managed what felt like a sprint finish (in reality a fast crawl lol) my legs nearly collapsed from under me. I was delighted when I checked my distance on my phone, 18.13km! Nothing very speedy at 2hrs 7mins but feeling more confident about my half marathon in 4 weeks which I aim to do in 2hrs30.
When I got home I had an insane moment and decided to have an ice bath! I didn't have much ice so it was more like a very cold bath. It did seem to help as miraculously I managed to get out of bed and walk this morning.
I'm running a 10km race on Sunday so I plan to do nothing but sit on my bum until then. I'll probably do one more long run before the HM and then start tapering.
Written by
Rose885
Graduate
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Having just graduated last week, I still find the 5k quite hard going so it really shows what you can achieve if you put your mind to it!
A runner friend of mine said that now that I can jog for 5k I should try and aim for 10k this time next year. I said I doubted I would ever do anything that sort of distance as the 30mins run already totally tires me out so I couldn't imagine running for an hour or more!
I think you will do very well in the Half Marathon - for me it wouldn't even be about time, it would just be finishing the course!
It's really up to you but I will say that I felt the same way once I got to 5km, it was hard going! It's not like I'm some amazing natural runner and I found it easy. The first time I did 5km I was sore and exhausted, I thought running 10km would be impossible.
If you're content with stopping at 5k that's completely fine but don't for one second think that you CAN'T do more if you want to because that's rubbish. Look at how far you've come with C25K, it's just a matter of applying the same principle: baby steps
If you wil pardon the expression....bloody marvellous!
Well done, sounds like the prep is coming along just fine. Excpet for the slight insanity of the ice bath but I am sure you can get medication for that
Wow well done you thats great news, I know how hard you have worked for this you have knocked lots of minutes off your Parkrun 5K time since I first met you, you are a real inspiration.
I would agree with Rosee885 don't right off trying for a longer distance RunningGirl83 there was no one more statisfied than me with 5K runs back in June this year. Then one morning I had a wonderful run, everything was just spot on and I just kept on going. Came home and measured my route on GRG and wow I had done 6.8K. There was no stopping the strong urge after that. My last long run was 8.9K, just another 6 minutes of running to break the 10K barrier. I have my route mapped out ready to go one of these days. But hey no pressure and thats when I do things best
Just read this ( a bit late, I've been away and trying to catch up now!) and you've done fantastically well Hope your legs still feel ok, a few days on.
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Auto-pilot time! I got to 16km and by this time it was getting dark and the sea harr was coming in, it was chilly. I was at the far end of the beach and if I stopped it would mean walking to where my bike was parked so I just kept going. I was running at a slow shuffle but I didn't feel terrible, I spotted the flashing light of the zebra crossing which was my end point and even managed what felt like a sprint finish (in reality a fast crawl lol) my legs nearly collapsed from under me. I was delighted when I checked my distance on my phone, 18.13km! Nothing very speedy at 2hrs 7mins but feeling more confident about my half marathon in 4 weeks which I aim to do in 2hrs30. 
Taking the babies with me
oh yes baby - I'm back in the running!
Mother starting C25K with baby today!!!
Week 3 Run 2 - Boston baby!!
