But three weeks of excessive waffle-consumption and limited running opportunities also means the focus needs to be on getting in shape for my first 10k charity fund-raiser at Bedgebury on September 11th (www.justgiving.com/KatieBarrettRuns).
I have no worries at all about the distance, having now regularly run much further than 10k, but I do want to make good time, and am determined to do it in less than 60 minutes. So, it’s straight back into training…
Sunday 29th August
My friend Nigel, who is training for the Great North Run on 19th September, posted on Facebook today that he had just run 10k in 56 minutes. A challenge! I set off in the evening for the Millennium Walkway and the River Medway, determined to do as well (if not better).
I can’t believe how much I had missed my river! My sky, my sunset, my castle. I couldn’t stop smiling as I settled into the now familiar routine, even though this Sunday evening I was running Anna-less.
On the Isle of Wight I had achieved my first sub-60 10k time, at 57.25 (see my blog post: Steep), and I pushed myself hard to try and beat it. And I did! My new personal record for 10k is… 55.41. I was delighted to (just) beat Nigel’s time too, but keep reading… he soon got his revenge!
Monday 30th August
Another virtual race with Nigel – this is good for my motivation! I chose to run my 5 mile Viaduct route crossing the river on the M2 and Rochester Bridge. The run itself was uneventful, apart from a crazy cyclist nearly knocking me off my feet as he whizzed by, all in black, with no helmet, whilst chatting on his mobile phone! But once again I was so happy be reunited with all my familiar landmarks, from the awesome view of the Medway from the top of the viaduct, to the little number 8 etched into the concrete of a particular paving slab by Rochester Bridge!5 miles (8.05km) completed in 47 minutes and 1 second, but Nigel triumphed this time with 8.23km in 46.02.
Wednesday 1st September
Just a small window of running opportunity this evening, so I decided to run my 5k circuit of Rochester taking in the castle and the Esplanade – a beautiful and speedy (but always hilly) run.
It had been an incredibly busy day, and I was very hungry, having not eaten for several hours, but consoled myself with the knowledge that a take-away curry from the amazing Shozna restaurant in Rochester was on the cards tonight. I had never run in a state of acute hunger before, but there really was no time to eat, and I thought that eating something immediately before a run was probably a bad idea, so I set off regardless.
Big mistake. A mile or so into the run I became extremely dizzy and faint to the point of almost passing out. Handily, I was right beside a bus-stop and collapsed onto the bench, my head between my knees. After several minutes I recovered enough to walk home, defeated, and feeling rather stupid.
I am never doing that again.
Thursday 2nd September
Number 2 son, Luca, went back to school today, but I won’t consider the school holidays truly over until Zac goes back on Monday. He was being looked after by his grandparents this morning, and Lily-Rose was with our au pair, so I had a chance to make up for last night’s aborted run. Feeling slightly nervous, but making sure I had a good breakfast (branflakes and a banana), I set off for my 5 mile Viaduct run again, but this time in reverse!Usually my runs always end with the mile-long uphill slog back to my house, but this time I started in the opposite direction, running down the hill. I absolutely love running downhill as fast as I possibly can – it always makes me smile and it almost feels like flying. (Actually, paragliding off the top of a cliff in Queenstown, New Zealand, a few years back felt more like flying, but this is a pretty good feeling too!)
I paid for my fun later though, because reversing the route meant several incredibly steep uphills on the way to the Medway Viaduct. I just can’t win with the hills in Rochester! I completed the 5 miles in 48.54 – a slightly longer time than on Monday, but I’m not sure if that is due to reversing the route, or still being a little wobbly from last night.
Overall conclusion from these runs: there’s no place like my beloved Rochester, and it’s good to be home!
Distance run (in miles): Sunday 6.2, Monday 5, Wednesday 1, Thursday 5
Total mileage this week: 17.2
Total mileage for August: 66.4
Total mileage for September: 6.0
Total since starting blog (21/6/10): 204.5
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