Sorry, long post!
My HM training plan was threatened by very sore muscles this week. A strength class on Monday with far too many squats and a 30 mile bike ride on Wednesday in very cold conditions left me in some discomfort on Thursday when I was attempting to run 3k with TailChaser at 6.30am in the morning. It was so bad I had to walk sections. A sympathetic Tailchaser approved of my decision to switch to marshaling at Parkrun but was not going to let me off today’s 10 mile run. I’ve not run that far before and would not be able to without Tailchaser’s guidance. I trust her completely.
We set off down the greenway (repurposed railway line) at 9.30am this morning, the sun was shining and birds were singing. There were puddles and dogs to negotiate but no headwind so we were happy. My 5/2min Jeffing ratio was working well. At the road crossing we headed right, into the headwind and some blind bends with no footpath. We had to keep crossing the road or leaping onto the verge to stay safe. We grabbed the chance to turned off down a side road to some pretty thatch cottages and a lovely church, sadly it was followed by a dead end. A quick look at Google maps put us onto a riverside footpath, a little muddy but firm and very pretty with wild garlic, primroses and the promise of maybe a Kingfisher. I really enjoyed this section and although glad to discover it did take us where we wanted to go, I was sad when it ended.
We inspected the flooding at the bridge at Welford and managed a selfie before heading back along another bit of unpleasant main road. We were hoping for a bit of peace once we reached the normally quiet road through Luddington, but the car boot traffic from the racecourse made it rather unpleasant, we did get a few moments to grab a picture of another lovely church though. The car dodging once again disrupted my Jeffing ratio and at 12k my body was starting to register its discomfort. Tailchaser kept encouraging me and reminded me as we re-entered Stratford that we were nearly home (‘you can sneeze on your house from here’ she cried). Within a few yards of home my watch said I had completed 16.2km, I could stop, take a breather and walk to the house.
My first ever 10 miles and I didn’t die, hooray! Thanks so much to my amazing mentor Tailchaser, who is so patient with me and so generous with her time and support. Also to the other HM trainees on here whose reports have encouraged me to give it a go. With about a month to go before I attempt my HM, my plan is to consolidate my efforts with a few more 10 - 13k runs, only trouble is I’m switching location for a couple of weeks, to somewhere with a more undulating terrain. Wish me luck!
We can do hard things…🙂🏃♀️
Bit late but my New Forest 10k report.
10 Mile Run in the wind 💨