Saturday morning and I was really excited about my long run. My rest week last week must have done me good as I was itching to run long again.
The plan was to do around 18 miles but I was running with Julie Ann out at Houston and left the route and distance up to her. We did just over 16 miles in total but 16 rather hilly and challenging miles. Brilliant!
The weather wasn’t too pleasant when I left home. Spitting rain in Glasgow and when I got to Houston it was kind of drizzling. Not too cold though. Maybe 4-6’C.
We ran over some of the route we did before out there, on a lot of B roads and past a lot of fields and farm animals.
Today it was… Horses, Sheep, stinking Cows and dogs. The cows really were stinking! At one point about 9 miles in we were running past a field after I’d taken an energy gel and I felt so sick with the smell of what… manure? So stinking I was almost wretching. Yuk.
The views were nice anyway and the downhills made the three or four long hills make them well worth the climb and effort.
I took an energy gel at 40 mins, 1:20 and 2 hours. The first two were caffeine ones, the last one a black currant gel. I heated them up in my hand before taking them and did Julie Ann’s too as she suffer from cold hands when she runs. It makes the gels much easier to take if you warm them for about 20 mins before you take them.
Julie Ann made the rather horrible comparison of the caffeine gels having the consistency of sperm… Lovely. Luckily I don’t think I’ve experienced that, or if I have I don’t remember. Now you know! 😉
Apparently as I was running up the hills I kept saying ‘for f£&@s sake’. Lol. I didn’t remember saying it and once Julie Ann told me I think I stopped my turettes.
We ran past some very nice houses at Kilmacolm and past a big garden with three little barky dogs who came out to say hello.
I felt good throughout. My legs were a little tired before the end but I could have kept on going. I enjoyed the hills and the chat with Julie Ann.
Oh and I’ve got 20 miles to go before I get to the purple level. Woohoo. Should do that next week no bother.
Got the half balloch to clydebank half marathon next weekend and I’m really looking forward to it.
I’ve got the half, then a 23 mile run planned, then the taper of 12 miles and 8 miles the weekend before.
Run: 16.25M, 2:31:52, Pace: 9:16, mph: 6.5mph, Calories: 1,684.
Ave HR: 146 (77%), Max HR: 172 (91%)
Time until Lochaber Marathon: 5 weeks 1 day.
340 mile challenge: 228 miles completed, 112 miles to go
Lorn Pearson Trains... 