A long run of two halves

Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1h44m06s
Mile 1 - 10m45s
Mile 2 - 10m21s
Mile 3 - 10m13s
Mile 4 - 10m16s
Mile 5 - 10m20s
- Short rest -
Mile 6 - 9m49s
Mile 7 - 10m12s
Mile 8 - 10m21s
Mile 9 - 10m30s
Mile 10 - 11m19s

At last!!! I'm back running again. I wanted to get out for a run on Friday, but was still snowbound. Saturday was too hectic rushing off to London to the Golden Bond "Meet the Experts" day full of tips and advice for the big day in April.

I mapped out a new 10 mile run for Sunday, an out-and-back route avoiding the main road, so I could run it all along the road and avoid the ice-covered pavements. But then I had a brainwave, that I could join the local gym on a 7-day trial membership, and run happily (and safely) indoors. So, having rung first to check I could do this, I popped off to Wantage Leisure centre yesterday to sign up, only to find that the gym staff member was off sick, so I couldn't have an induction.

This evening couldn't come round quickly enough, and I was there in good time. It took half an hour to work round all the gym equipment and try out each one, so the personal trainer was happy that I knew how to use them. Then I'm on the treadmill... which is calibrated in Km.
Um, quick, what's 10 miles in Km? Well, perhaps I'll start with 8k (about 5 miles) and see how I go.

This worked out well, as I started to get the slightest niggly pain in my right leg again. I wasn't sure I'd make it to 10, so when the 5 miles were up, I stopped for a breather, a carbo gel, and a drink of water. And then I took a few minutes to do my ITB stretches, and then it was back on the treadmill for another 8k to bring me up to the 10 miles I wanted to do.

And the second session started off really well, so the mid session interval obviously helped, especially the stretching. However tiredness soon caught up with me, so I slowed the pace a little on each mile. Still I'm happy to have reached ten miles again, but I don't think I'll be rushing to join the gym to run there full time. Because treadmill running is so boring! It's no fun looking at yourself in the mirror, nor watching TV (in the treadmill's monitor), and it's really no fun seeing the metres ticking round so slowly.

Give me the fresh air, the countryside and the constantly changing scenery please! Running mile by mile along the road seems a doddle to pounding the treadmill. "Oh look I've done another 400m, so that means only 2.5 minutes since I last looked at my watch. Oh, and 7.5 minutes until this mile is up..." Whereas out on the open road with just my thoughts to keep me company it's more a case of "Oh look, I've done 7.5 minutes since I last looked at my watch, so only a quarter of a mile to go to finish this one"