Week 1 #FDRun2020

Well, I say week, it's 5 days from Wednesday 1st January to Sunday 5th January.

KM's Completed: 29.5

Runs: 4

1st January - Haverfordwest parkrun - 5km

1st January - Milford Waterfront parkrun - 5km

3rd January - Friday Night with Alex - 6.5km

4th January - Saturday with Eoin - 13km

New Years Day parkrun double - 10k of aching legs

The year started with two parkruns, which would have been lovely, had I not been so tired from the combination of a gruelling (read: hilly) 10 miles the day before and WAY TOO MUCH chocolate on NYE.

Haverfordwest felt really tough, Milford Waterfront was more enjoyable ... both were quite slow for me - but it felt really good to get 10k under my belt before breakfast (you should really eat before running you know ...)

Friday Night with Alex

Alex (my brother) came with me for a 4 mile loop around Wokingham - thankfully at my pace, rather than his as I would have had to be cycling to keep up. It was meant to be 5km but ended up being a bit more due to a desire to keep the mileage on strava to a round number. It's all KMs in the bag, after all.

It was a great run, decent pace and Alex showed me a new 5km route from my house, which will be useful.

Saturday - Long Run Day - with Eoin

This is where it all went a bit wrong. My watch only had 20% battery. I'd picked up the wrong trainers for the conditions underfoot. I was incredibly thirsty for a stretch of the run where the only water available was in puddles ... my throat was so dry I couldn't breathe. I tried listening to music for some distraction, it was just annoying. I nearly tripped over a dog.

We had planned 10 miles from Runnymede, along the thames path, to Dorney, around the lake and into the cafe. I thought I had put my ons trainers in the car, I have some hybrid ones, which work perfectly for muddy path and road running. As it turns out I only had my nike road running trainers, which are just horrendous in mud. I was angry with myself for not having the right shoes and not charging my watch. I got over the watch thing but am still cross about the shoes.

My legs were still a little achey from Tuesday's epic ten miles. The whole 8 miles hurt and I couldn't shift the thought that there is no way I can run a marathon in a couple of months time. No way. Essentially, I lost all sense of perspective.

Let's see what next week brings, with my first race of the year - a nice 10k in Bushy Park on Sunday.