I shouldn't really blow my trumpet but I'm making progress with my running and it feels good to meet a couple of milestones.
I started running in May of last year as I was getting tired of the poor weather and lack of time for mountain biking. I had a reasonable base fitness from a number of years of climbing hills on the bike and I wanted some way to improve my fitness during winter.
Since then my "standard" run has progressed from a short loop (5 km?) on the flat, to a longer (8km I think) loop on the flat, to a 10km loop up to Sign of the Takahe (200m climb) and back. I throw in the Harry Ell track out & back if I feel like suffering, which I then regret for the following two days. That one adds an extra 5.5km distance with 100m of climbing so quite a shallow gradient. And it really is a lovely track.
As an aside, it's taken a bit of getting used to running-distances. 10km on the bike is barely worth leaving home for, hence my enthusiasm to hit the hills and get some good distance in.
Last week I saw a press release come through about the
Vineyard Half Marathon in Blenheim which got me thinking... it's only a few km further than my "long" run, and it's all on the flat. So maybe I could do it.
So last Saturday I worked out a route following the Heathcote river and ran it. It hurt, a lot more than I expected, but I was stubborn enough to see it through. After mapping the route more accurately it turns out that it was actually a couple of km too long but I'm comfortable with that, better than being too short if you're trying to prove something to yourself.
I didn't feel very good right from the start of the run so my time wasn't too flash, but at this stage I'm happy to know I can go the distance without any special buildup. I'm thinking sub-2 hrs would be a good target, but if I'd run the regulation length I'd have probably made that. Not sure how much difference the Spinal Tap made but being able to drink on the run without a support crew was crucial.
Today's milestone was to break the 50-minute barrier for my loop up to Sign of the Takahe and back. 49:45 and boy did it hurt... but for most of the run I felt really strong. So I ignored the heart rate gizmo and opted to let my body set my pace rather than my brain.
About the only barrier left now is for the Harry Ell run. I'm wanting to beat 1hr30 but I think that will take a while as I really do regret it after going hard on that one.
So I might think about entering a couple of half marathons just for fun... and I really do take my hat off to anyone who can do a full marathon, not to mention all those other great long-distance events. That stuff takes real commitment.
