OK, since my last blog I’ve been steadily stepping up the distance and have managed four 10ks, multiple 30 min runs and one 10 miler plus I’m managing to average 3 runs a week. Well that was up until this week where a combination of a work trip to Vegas and man flu have restricted me to just one wobbly treadmill run. Running on a treadmill in Vegas is hugely intimidating – surrounded by the perfectly sculpted physiques of the local dancers and bouncers my pasty white, middle aged wobbly body didn’t exactly blend in! But I managed it anyway and rewarded myself with a pizza the size of a horse!
My 10k time is still quite slow (48 mins at the moment) but I suspect that I can beat that, its more down to me not enjoying running quickly (I’m a further not faster guy) and also me being a bit lazy! I mostly run early in the morning (5am normally), so it’s sometimes a bit difficult to go all Usain Bolt on the treadmill in the shed (shedmill?!) when I’d much rather be back in bed!
However the major win is that I am back running 8.5 min miles really comfortably. This is really important as I’m preparing for Endure 24 in June and I need to get to a steady and even pace that I can push out to further and further distances. Obviously I won’t be running 8.5 min/mile for 24 hours straight – I’m definitely a back-of-the-pack runner, nothing more. But it is good to know where my ‘safe place’ is so I can moderate my pace accordingly. I really want to do 100 miles in the 24 hours so don’t intend to run anything quicker than a 9 minute mile on the day with plenty of walk breaks!
I’ve been travelling quite a bit with work and managed a 10 mile run around Washington which is one of the most amazing places to run – in 90 mins you can see all of the major monuments from the White House to Capitol Hill, through to the Lincoln memorial. It was amazing to see and I’m truly lucky to have had the opportunity to be there. It’s also not too scary exploring Washington on foot because of the grid system which means even I can’t get lost there!
So my next challenge – November is coming and I want to get my 10k under 45 mins and to get outside and do at least 2 runs at half marathon or more distance. I’m thinking about doing a 50 mile ultra in January so I should probably start getting my butt in gear!