Day 29 was the day I took part in the inaugural #Virtual10Miler as set up by @runnerskness. (Sadly, it wasn't as virtual as I had originally thought and I had to actually get out there and run the distance! I jest!) I was part of 25 runners across the world, the actual world!, running 10 miles just for fun....and a fabby bit of hand-personalised bling. I was a late entry to the team following a previous participant dropping out on Thursday; I was due to run 9 miles this weekend anyway so what's another mile between twitter buddies! Before I knew it, I was on the list. The only 'rules' were that you had to run the distance today, take pics before, during & after and submit these to Mr. Runnerskness. So, before I knew it, I was all geared up, P20 suncream applied (ever the optimist!), Garmin on, Help For Heroes and Summit for Heroes wristbands on (support for Armed Forces Day) taking a snap of myself and I was out of the door.
I won't go into mile by mile detail but for the first 3 miles, I felt OK; a comfortable pace and trying to enjoy the scenery. I had a route planned out that would see me cover a regular route, back into town and then out the other side for a little additional countryside loop. However, a little after mile 2, I changed my mind and ran a different route, and I'm glad I did. It was countryside all the way, albeit hilly. Quite hilly indeed. More hilly than I thought it would be. Just to clarify, it was hilly.
As per the rules, I took a few pics en route as proof I was doing it. This is approx 4 miles....the view and me!
My pace was far from perfect but OK for me, bearing in mind the afore mentioned hills. However, a little over halfway, I felt the pace really change and I admit that I was struggling a tad with the heat and the run overall. Fuelling when moving is also a struggle for me and an area that I've never mastered. I took with me a High 5 gel and had this about 5-6 miles as well has having a High 5 zero tablet in my water which I was sipping as I went. Nothing sat right and from about halfway I felt a bit icky. Not using this as an excuse at all, as I didn't stop me running just made me feel a tad queasy.
Anywhooo, I trundled on and the time and miles were ticking by. I am really am lucky to live where I do and have such beautiful countryside on my doorstep. Even with heavy legs, before I knew it, I was just a mile from home. With a last push, at keeping upright and not grinding to a halt, I made it. Home. And in not too bad a time at all. My Great South Run time in October, for the same distance, was 1:40 (PB) and today's effort was 1:42.
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| Happy to be done |
Not bad at all. Not bad at all considering the dire mile times that slowly got slower and slower as the mileage ticked by. No negative split for me but one whopping great big positive split!!
Regardless of my heavily positive split, I am proud of myself for getting out there and doing it. I am also super proud of myself for only having one mini 'nanny nap' consisting of 20 mins of zzzz's for the whole day. A day of proud moments for me!
Awesome work!! Wish I could cover 10 miles that quick!! Maybe one day :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam!
ReplyDeleteI never thought I would get to these times either - a little under a year ago I was running 11 min+ miles.....and I know that I can do better still.
You can do, I know you can! :o)