Tuesday, 12 April 2011

a very good run

Yesterday's 27 miler went very well indeed.  In fact I was surprised at how well it went.

After a large bowl of porridge for breakfast I headed for the 7.15am bus to take me to Skipton where I re-fuelled with another coffee and a croissant.

Leaving Skipton at about 9.20am I headed to Apperley Bridge along the canal - a journey of about 21 miles.  As you would expect this was almost entirely flat but the ground was muddy in places and uneven for at least half of the distance.

I wasn't complaining though, the weather was fine and I was enjoying myself.  After leaving the canal I headed north to Rawdon - up the hill - and again I was surprised at how easy it seemed.  Between miles 21 and 22 I probably climbed about 70m (225 feet).  Not easy at that stage of a long run.

And then the next few miles were again uphill (slightly) but by now it was raining and I was getting wet.  It was unseasonably warm though and I was still enjoying myself knowing that the final mile and a half were downhill.

Overall time ... about 3h 45 ... but that's not the point.  I wasn't running to any pre-determined pace, just building the mental confidence needed to run a long way.

Job done then.

Congratulations also to Elizabeth Grayson on completing her first ultra.  The Glasgow to Edinburgh race.

1 comment:

Peter James said...

Chris; a shame you weren't running a day earlier, as my wife and I were out for a run along the canal from Skipton on the Sunday morning. It would've been good to run with you again, though we definitely wouldn't have managed 27 miles!! Best Regards