A hot Saturday long run with friends.

So I left off my last post on Wednesday afternoon - that evening I headed to Dumyat to run up it with Helen and Bob again - this time from the Pendreich carpark, so a wee bit further and a slight climb before the hill itself. It was hot, so I drank loads on the way as I didn't want to carry water with me for a 1 hour run. We got to the carpark and spotted Amanda running past with a halo of flies - she'd been running for a while, and I think was grateful for a brief respite while she stopped for a chat with us, and then we headed up the hill together to get to the bottom of Dumyat, at which point Amanda carried on her way (strangely enough not wanting to join us on the climb, haha). I didn't notice it feeling particularly easier than last time, although I think the heat was playing a key factor here. I kept moving up the hill, but was struggling a wee bit. I can't directly compare my times, because last time we took a slightly different route to the top, but in general it appears I was a wee bit faster this time. On the descent, though, I can directly compare the descent from summit to the gate, and the two times are fairly close - covering just over 1.5 miles in approx 23 minutes.

Despite being hot, it was a positive run for me, with two very supportive and helpful runners (and all-round lovely people - which helps!). In general it had been a very active few days, and I was feeling quite good, but daunted about the weekend ahead, so I took Thursday and Friday as rest days. Saturday I'd been working out how to get my long run done, as well as meeting friends for parkrun, but as it happened, the parkrun plans fell through, so I was able to change my long run to a wee bit earlier to try and avoid the worst of the heat. Last week I ran a pathetic, unhappy, 6.6 miles, and really I needed to be doing something in the region of 7.5 to 8 miles as my long run this week. It didn't sound very do-able to me...

Saturday, I met Davie and Julie in Pollok Park in Glasgow, for my long run this week. This is his stomping ground, and when it comes to helping me get ready for the Southside Six, there's nobody who could do the job better. I don't run with him often, in fact I'd struggle to remember the last time we've ran together really apart from some short bits of the Chatelherault Sunday Socials, but I've generally become better at trusting I'm not p*ssing off running companions by being slow, and accepting offers of help, so I was actually looking forward to running with them. Davie and Julie were both one week out of their epic performances at the Clyde Stride (I know I still owe a write-up on that), but Julie hadn't ran at all since then, so I was hopeful we'd all be okay plodding aling at my pace, and lo and behold, that's exactly how we set off. :)

We followed the route out of Pollok that I'll follow on race day in November, and into Bellahouston Park. I was struggling a little to maintain the pace of the first two miles, for a couple of reasons - one, I rarely manage to keep up an 11:40-ish pace for this long, two, it was rather too hot and sunny for my liking, and three, I was starting to panic about the climb into Bella park, up to where the stairs are, and beyond. I asked the guys to slow the pace a wee bit, and they did, "as long as I kept moving" - I was managing to keep running okay, but then the climb up into the Park got a wee bit too much for me, and I walked a bit. I ran and walked and ran again on the flat along to the steps, and tried to run up the steps the whole way, focussing on short footsteps and not thinking of them as a whole, if that makes sense. However, the heat and whatever else got too much for me, and I was walking before halfway up. Ach, never mind, I'll keep at 'em...

We ran and walked out of the park, and along Nithsdale Rd. I was taking a few drinks of water, finding it a bit of a struggle, and Julie tried to distract me a bit by asking me what it is about running I love so much - hahahahahahahahahahaha. It's a funny one this, why do I do so much running if I don't enjoy it? Well, it's a hard one to explain, but in brief terms, it's because running makes the rest of my life better. I love what running is doing for me, so I can cope with an our of sucky horrible running , knowing te remaining 23 hours of the day will be better for it. Shortly after this conversation, I'd returned to whinging a wee bit about how hard running is (think the tone of a sulky child, and you'll be close), especially in this heat. "I might diiieee..." I moaned - Davie (without even turning round) matter-of-factly replied "Aye, but you'll die doing something you almost enjoy, with people you kinda like." - haha, no reply to that, really!! (There's no 'kinda' about it, but it doesn't help to praise the Moonertys too often, they'll get bigheaded.)

Coming to the end of Nithsdale Rd, I was now in unknown territory, as Davie showed me how to get to Queens Park, where the race finishes. I was struggling a bit here, and as we turned the corner to be faced with a farmers market (and all the yummy sights and smells that come with that!) - I knew I'd have to try and run to the steps, but it was tough going. After the steps, I couldn't bring myself to start running agin, but tried best I could, but the way to the 'finish line' was tough. At the top, we paused briefly for water and then walked down to the start point and down the hill where the race begins. After that we started running again,and ran/walked to Haggs Rd. I eyed the entrance to Pollok Park..... as we went past it. *pouts* I'd heard Davie saying he'd take me into the park the way that I'll come on the day, but it hadn't really sank in, until we passed the next roads into the park, and still didn't take it. And then passing a third, I heard myself moan 'where the f*ck are we going?!" - my energy was dipping and the heat was getting me down, plus I'd done well over 7½ miles now and could quite do with sitting down! lol. Davie had other thoughts.... we finally turned into the park, and heading up there we were soon on a narrow track, running in single file, with Julie in front of me and Davie behind. The ground was uneven and difficult in places, and the guys had declared I wasn't walking in this section, so I got my head down and just tried to keep moving. Julie would pull away a couple of times, but then slow again, and I was comfortable with not needing to keep up her pace. Davie stayed behind me, saying the right things, as I was starting to get a bit anxious. Everything in my head was screaming at me to walk for a bit, but with Davie right behind me telling me to keep going, I had to battle that inner voice more than ever before. I could feel my brathing getting shorter and shallower as panic gently bubbled under, so I forced myself to take some deep breaths and keep running. It was difficult, but eventually, the 'finish line' drew into sight, finishing at Pollok House - 8.3 miles and 1hr 42 after we'd started. we'd covered just over 6 miles of actual race route, so that's two more miles than I did last time. Initial emotions on finishing were mixed - "oh thank god we're done!" mixed with "yay! I just ran 8.3 miles!" mixed with "oh my God that was hard!" mixed with "I'd never have done that on my own" mixed with "I don't feel too bad - I'm clearly getting fitter" mixed with "how the f*ck am I going to run 16 miles in 15 weeks' time...???" - but generally, I felt pleased, positive, and a quick head-to-toe inventory revealed that nothing hurt, at all. How awesome is that?!

I drove home after carpark goodbyes, and had a shower that felt amazing. I'd ran for over 100 minutes and drank approximately 250ml of water during the run, but 500ml before and 500ml after, so I think I'd managed that well. After a good lunch, I collapsed on the couch and was overcome with tiredness. I most likely fell asleep in front of the TV, with a half-drank mug of tea on the table and a smile on my face.

I could get used to this.