While doing C25K I've usually tried to avoid running up anything more than the merest bump. This has restricted my choice of routes somewhat during the past nine weeks (although the routes I did were very nice) and meant I always walked the last 1.2 km home.
Now I've graduated I feel I need to be grown up about the hills where I live and start tackling some of them. Since today's run in my 10K plan focused on running for time (40 mins), not distance, I thought it was the ideal opportunity to find a new route, so I set off in the opposite direction to my usual routes.
The minute I finished my warm up walk it started raining. I quickly switched on Runkeepr and stashed the iphone in my running belt, and set off running. After a few minutes of the rain, and wondering whether I was going to get too cold since I was in short-sleeved shirt and shorts and it was 8°C, I realised that in fact I was comfortable running and I just didn't care about the rain one jot!
I ran past one farm, crossed the main road and headed uphill on the twisty single track road that would give me a nice route into one of the country estates. This short, steep hill felt ok and easier than I'd imagined it would be. When I checked my time I found I'd run 20 minutes, but the rain was getting heavier. I changed my planned long route in the estate and headed back a different way - one that took me along a section of farm track that had huge puddles that I ran straight through; ha! who cares about a spot of water! Then I had a short narrow path, where I was dodging underneath low branches and brushing past soaking wet bamboo. Again I didn't care about getting wet! This changed route meant that, for the first time, I had to run the long, gradual incline up to my house, which I've always left for the cool down walk before. That was hard, but I did it, albeit very slowly.
I was happy enough with my stats for this run:
Distance: 5.92 km
Duration: 0:42:08 h : m : s
Avg. Pace: 7:07 min/km
Avg. Speed: 8.43 km/h
Climb: 55 m
First post grad outing
W7 R2 - very soggy run 🌧
First Graduation Run Completed? Now let the flame wars begin :-)
First post graduation run
First time poster and ... graduate!
