We’ve been fortunate to have some stunning weather up here over the last few days. The mornings in particular have been wonderfully clear and crisp: Perfect weather for running. Doubly so in that Pollok park is delightfully empty of walkers, horse riders and ambling families. Whilst nice to see folk out and about, when I’m running I just love the feeling of solitude that an empty stretch of path provides.
Anyway, I pulled myself out of bed a little later than I had intended, but was in the park by about 8.30am. For some time now I’ve been planning on ramping up my mileage – I’m hoping to enter the Glasgow half-marathon in September, but the weather hasn’t been conducive to such. An hour in cold drizzle is not my idea of fun, even if I do enjoy running. So this mornings perfect weather was just what I needed to put in my first 10km run.
I really had very little idea of how I’d feel about things as I passed my more usual 5km distance. I was worried my body would just scream out ’stop!’ as I entered longer distance territory. But I was pleased to find that I was able to sustain my pace, and plod on. Sure, I took a couple of short walking breaks. I was taking a bit of a risk by doubling my usual distance, so caution was the watchword. But they worked their magic and on I went.
I didn’t leave Pollok park for the duration. Something I think I’ll be addressing in my next attempt at this distance. I’ve been doing circuits, and whilst they certainly beat going around a running track, it still felt a bit repetitive. I’ve three other lovely parks on my doorstep (Queens park, Maxwell park and Mosspark) which I think I’ll try and incorporate, so things are a bit more varied. Not keen about running along the pavements though. But I have been spoilt somewhat by Pollok park.
I finally managed to complete the 10km (that’s 6.2 miles) distance in just under an hour. A double bonus, because I really hadn’t expected my first 10km to be as fast as that (5.43min/km). Lastly, that rate of 5.43min/km is just a little slower than my 5km pace, so I was pleased to find my running is consistent. So I can only conclude I was a bit more prepared for the run than even I’d expected!
I’m hoping to manage to work in a longer distance run a bit more often (as well as perhaps picking up my 5km pace). Not sure I’ll do a full 10km every week though! My legs are certainly feeling quite tired after the effort, but I’m certainly feeling rather buoyed up by the achievement, and how surprisingly recovered I feel.
In other running achievements, I was chuffed to find that I won a Nike+ challenge (most miles in 30 days) that I had been taking part in. I think I benefited a little from illnesses and injuries that struck others, although a week-long trip to London detracted from my mileage too. That said, the very first thing I did on my return home was go for a run in the park: I think it’s feelings like that that make me think that running is really starting to get ingrained in my routine, and I find it a great way to both unwind, and prepare for the day ahead. Oh, if anybody reading this fancies getting involved in the next Nike+ “Plod along” challenge, drop me a note. We’re reasonably well matched and focusing on distance not pace, so if you’re doing 3-5km when you run, join us! It’s a great encouragement to go running when you can’t otherwise find the motivation to go running with inclement weather.
I’ve taken to not bothering with headphones as I run these days. Whilst I do find I get a little bored as I run, the trouble is I find I’ve not actually got any music I like to listen to when running. If I listen to something a bit too much, I start associating it with running, which detracts from it when I listen to it elsewhere. Still, Nike are giving away a free track (You may need to reload the page a few times to get the opportunity) which is specifically geared up for running. At 45 minutes long, Perhaps I’ll give that a go next time I tackle the 10km distance.
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March 24th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Congrats Richard on stepping up the distance. Although fitness can come (fairly) quickly, your body takes time to adapt and get used to it so most texts will suggest upping the distance by 5 or maybe 10 percent each week, and then having a “no change” week every month or so. You’ve clearly gone beyond that but your body didn’t complain (well, not yet) which as you say means that you were more prepared than you thought. I think the fact that you’ve been running for quite a while and not just jumped into a 10k distance after a couple of weeks running has made the difference here. Great stuff.
On Sunday mornings I’m helping people out who are training for the London marathon in a few weeks (although I’m not doing it – I’ll be watching instead) but I have a true appreciation for what they’re putting themselves through and how much dedication it takes. As for my dedication, I’m about to head to the pub to meet up with a friend before getting up early tomorrow (especially with the clocks going forward) to run a few miles with them. Oh I love running with a hangover (now that’s not discussed in any of my running books!)
March 25th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Well done Richard, stickability is your key word.
Can’t wait for the day when you tell us you have played ‘The Entertainer’ on the piano.