The plan called for easy pace, just try and get the miles covered comfortably, but try to pick up speed in the last two miles or so. So, I started my run outside the Travelodge where I was staying, and it amused me that my start point was the finish of the West Highland Way! So a quick snap with this fella, and I set off - down to the main road, following it along to the roundabout where the Great Glen Way starts, and across onto the path. After a wee bit, it opened out onto trail, and since it was before 7am, I had a lot of company - of the sheep variety!! I slowed to walk, in case I barrelled into a sheep lol, then picked up going again. The sun was out, but it was early enough in the day that it wasn't too warm. The torrential rain of the last couple of days meant that there were a lot of puddles - and a lot of midges!! I'm pretty lucky in that I don't get bitten by them, but I was still doused in Smidge repellent, and of course getting clouds of the wee blighters in my face, landing on my arms, and so on, was pretty irritating! But, coming out through a housing estate, I was treated to a gorgeous view and thus I figured I could handle a few thousand visitors around my face and arms, haha. I was running reasonably well, comfortably, with a few short stops to negotiate steps etc. The traily bits weren't taxing, and the elevation was incredibly flat!!
After a short bit, I came out at the Caledonian Canal, where I ran in a circle for a little bit, because I didn't know my left from my right haha, and then followed the canal path for another mile or so along towards Neptune's Staircase. This is where I stopped, as my Garmin showed just over 5 miles, and because the previously flat canal path was about to change!!! The 'Staircase' name isn't a coincidence, lol, it's a series of canal locks going upwards, so the path of course goes uphill alongside them! Anyway, it was my turning point - so a quick pause for a photo and drink of water, and I was off back following the route I came.
I picked the pace up in mile 7, and managed really well for the last bit. Coming off the Great Glen Way, and back onto the main road, although I was definitely tiring now, and couldn't face the jelly beans I'd tucked into my pocket, I still managed to further pick up my pace and pushed on. Finally, 10 miles came up on my watch, and I gratefully pressed stop. I couldn't quite believe it, but a mixed-terrain 10 mile run at steady pace had taken me 1:54;09!! When you consider than during my half marathon PB race in May, 9 weeks earlier, I had reached 10 miles in 1:54:56, and that was under race conditions and pushing myself hard, it's really very apparent how much progress I've made since then! Anyway. All rather gratifying stuff.Talking about progress, after a rest day on Monday, and a 5 mile steady pace recovery run yesterday, my plan called for speedwork today. So far, speedwork has been various types of intervals - but today, a one mile test. Oh. My. God. To say I was panicking was an understatement!!!! I haven't ran a specific one mile test since May 2014, during my year of rubbishness lol, when I managed 11:20 with a couple of walk breaks. My previous PB had been 10:29, but this year I had managed to clock a 9:54 mile during my 5km PB at Strathclyde parkrun a month or so ago. So, I figured, I had to beat 9:54!! We'll call that Goal #2 - because frankly, Goal #1 was basically "please don't die".
So, very early this morning I headed off to the beach, where I could get a nice, long, flat section of pavement to run on. I ran a steady 1 mile warm-up, then immediately started the test. Picking up the pace without looking at my watch, I pushed into a fast pace and ran for 30 seconds before looking down. My pace was sub-9 minute mile! Ooops, this wasn't sustainable!!! However, I kept going, and as my pace started to flag a wee bit, the lowest I saw it get was around 9:25 min/mile pace I think (I didn't stare at my watch the whole time, just checked it every now and again). At around 0.4 miles, I started to feel like this was actually bloody hard work thankyouverymuch!! At 0.5 miles, I was panicking that I'd measured the route wrong and would end up having to sprint up a hill to finish (spoiler alert: I didn't). At 0.6 miles, I really, really wanted to stop. By 0.7 miles I was silently calling the guy who writes my training plans all the sweary names under the sun (but mostly f*cking a*sehole, since the rhythm of the words suited my cadence). By 0.8 miles I wasn't silent at all; my breathing sounded like a donkey braying - heeeee, hawwwww, heeeeee, hawwwwww - but thankfully I'd picked 5:45am on a mostly deserted seaside promenade, and there was nobody about to be startled as I stumbled noisily past them, lol. By 0.85 miles I just wanted it OVER, so I tried to speed up even more. By 0.9 miles I started trying to figure out where my stop point would be, and focussed my eyes on the point I expected (I was remarkably close!). By 0.95 miles I thought I might actually die if my fucking stupid piece-of-shit twatting Garmin didn't get to 1.00 quicker!!! By 0.99 I was stumbling and flailing about like a drunkard on speed as I reached for the stop button. - and then, bliss, 1.00. - I hit stop, and came to a wobbly stop, sitting down on the wall. I'd missed seeing my time, because the watch screen had changed to ask me if I wanted to save the data, but I was going to be starting running again shortly, so I just had to leave it, and I had no idea how I'd actually done. My eyes had been entirely focussed on the distance, not the time!!
After a couple of minutes getting my breathing back under control, I set my watch going again and set off on a 1 mile cool-down run. When I was done, I could finally see what my mile test result had been - I'd decided I must have finished around 9:20, which I was thrilled about, so when I watched my watch flash up "New Record" above the numbers 9:11 I was floored. Absolutely gobsmacked. (And exhausted, lol.) Huge PB, and a big demonstration of what can be achieved through consistency, working hard, and just Getting On With It.
So, there you have it - a long run, and a short run, both with extremely positive messages for me to take away, and to motivate me onwards. x x
Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you! it's all pretty exhausting, this running malarkey - I don't know how you do it! x
DeleteI love your description of what it was like to run a mile flat out - it's the same for all of us. It feels manageable for the first half mile, by 3/4's the breath is rapidly become very laboured and the last 1/4 you descend into a quagmire of pain and desperation for the whole thing to be over, or for the ground to swallow you and let you die in peace.
ReplyDeleteWell done on the big PB. Not only is your basic fitness better allowing you to run faster for the same level of effort, but you're developing the mental skills to keep pushing through the intense discomfort so you can wring out every last bit of performance.
As much as the mile PB is impressive, the trail runner in me can't help but prefer the run along the Caledonian Canal. With your endurance and confidence increasing each week runs like this exploring new trails will open up. You have lots of adventures ahead :-)
Hahaha, thanks for that - nice to know it's not just me. :-)
DeleteThe confidence is increasing, like you say, around exploring new areas when I run, though I am having palpitations at the thought of the darker mornings drawing in. Shouldn't affect the long runs at the weekend, though, so hopefully I definitely will have adventures (hopefully the not-too-eventful, nice, easy, non-scary types, haha).