This week has been a solid if not perfect running week. I blogged about our run last Sunday and then we also went on Monday and Tuesday – just 45 minutes each. Each of those two runs were quite hard work – that flu bug or virus or whatever hasn’t quite been banished yet I don’t think! Both runs were enjoyable too though. We went along the canal for both but in opposite directions each time. The autumn colours are stunning at the moment and it was nice to just look around. In both cases we stuck to 1 minute runs and 30 second walks and on both we took a few walk breaks out here and there. I had my moments during the runs – mostly because I didn’t find them easy and started worrying about whether I would be able to get up to any kind of distance again. The niggles started: ‘yeah ok so you can jog for a minute and then walk a bit and you can keep that going for 45 minutes… but what then?’ or ‘You’ve only done 3.6 miles and you’re tired. 26.2 isn’t going to happen, is it?’ or the worst one ‘Be realistic, you can’t do this!’ Those thoughts didn’t last too long though and overall I felt pretty postive.

We didn’t run Wednesday because we both had long days at work and Kath didn’t get home til 7pm ish. We didn’t go Thursday because we were both too tired to function. Friday we made excuses. We sold one of our sheep and then went out for tea… Today we were going to do all sorts of sheep stuff but our sheep had other ideas – we will have to try catching them again tomorrow. It did mean that we could go for a steady 5.2 mile run along the canal to Saltaire. We set off on 1 minute run intervals with 30 second walks inbetween. We did that for about the first 10 minutes or so. Then the Garmin battery died. We knew it was low so I had put my normal stopwatch on. We then ran most of the way with 2 minute runs, 30 sec walks. There was a bit in the middle – around 35 minutes where I struggled a bit and we dropped back to 1 minute or 1.5 minutes. We got to Saltaire in 1 hour and just under 4 minutes which if Google maps is accurate is 5.2 miles from where we started. That would be a pace of 12.3 minutes per mile.

The run was nice. We actually managed to chat a bit while running and we remembered to look around – mostly just at the colours but we also passed swans, lots of ducks and moorhens. The canal bank was relatively quiet. We passed a few people but really not many. Maybe the rain earlier in the day kept people away. As we were running I thought that it might be the last run before Florida where I can get away with 3/4 length pants. It’s going to be too cold for them soon. Once again my Ronhill jacket (see last blog post) was fabulous though. It actually didn’t rain while we were running but it kept the wind off  a bit.

As we were sitting in ‘Don’t Tell Titus’ enjoying fizzy water and punjabi nachos it occured to me that 5 miles was no longer a scary distance. I don’t mind 5 miles. In fact 5 miles is nice. I’m not saying the run was easy. Running is never easy but I never thought I would struggle to get the distance done. I enjoyed a lot of the run and I could have kept going at the end of the 5 miles. There were bits I didn’t like – the steep downhill at Bingley Five Rise Locks. I just don’t like downhill. I didn’t like that hill and the gentler slope further along that were both covered in leaves and were damp and thus slippy and the bit of the canal two path which runs directly along the Bingely bypass which is noisy – we just ran that bit rather than taking a walk break – I just wanted to get back to quiet as quickly as possible.

Tomorrow we are planning on a Bolton Abbey run – so there will be hills. We’re joining in the October One Big Fat Run which is a virtual 5k run taking place over this weekend  -wherever you are. I’m actually quite looking forward to it.