Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Into Double Figures

by Russell Turner - 16:28 on 05 February 2018

Another milestone was reached today – my first 10-mile run. Or, to be strictly accurate, 20mins running and 5mins walking x 4 plus another 10mins running to hit the magic 10. Let’s hope I can still walk tomorrow. Only another 16.2 miles to go.

My running pace was pretty much the same all the way, around 10:20 min/mile average, and I wasn’t flagging by the end. I’d had one energy gel during the second walk break and a few mouthfuls of water during all of them, which seemed to work well. I’d have taken a second gel if there were more miles ahead but as I’m sticking to the plan (of course) I finished when I was supposed to, although there was still some running left in me.

Even better was that the run was performed in the new shoes. They still don’t feel as cushioned as the old ones but do the job OK. Maybe I won’t need to splash out more cash on footwear.

I might have to invest in a new water bottle though – the dinky one borrowed from Matchgirl was empty by the end. The alternative, when I’m ready for my first 12-miler, is to run to Cromarty and get it refilled there for the return journey. I’d planned to leave a bottle at the bottom of the drive and make that today’s halfway point but the frosty conditions meant that my emergency water might have turned solid.

Fortunately the cold wasn’t backed up by wind, and there were enough sunny stretches for the run to be pleasant. Maybe I could get used to this.

Something that helped was the discovery that humming waltzes is even better than marching music for keeping the legs moving. The advantage is that the downbeat is on alternate legs, rather than always on the same one which can lead (so I’ve read) to stress on the dominant appendage.

Mull of Kintyre, selections from Strauss and the theme from ’Allo ’Allo kept me going. Any other suggestions?

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