Mountains

Saturday 7km 46 mins (inc hills)
Monday (BH) 10 miles 1.48 (inc hills).

I’ve hit a strange wall with my running in the last week, one I wasn’t expecting to hit, every run last week was completed with the thought, ‘why am I doing this again?’.  I’ve got this sort of meh feeling about it.  I think it’s partly because I don’t feel my runs aren’t progressing, I’m not getting any faster or better at anything, it’s purely for the consistency that I’m running (because my schedule tells me to run).  I also think that I don’t get that lovely achy leg feeling anymore, or runners high (noooh).  And it is a bit frustrating that I’m not getting faster.  It’s a bit frustrating.  But I am winning at dedication and consistency, especially during another heatwave week.

Yesterday as I post run reflected, I had to remind myself how far I’ve come in just one month (4 weeks).   A month ago I was in Scotland, and it was the first time I managed two miles without stopping, and that was tough.  Sunday I ran 10 miles without stopping (except for traffic lights and tourists).  That’s quite a progression in one month.  So if I stick with consistency what can I achieve in another month before the half.  Maybe I’ll get faster, maybe I’ll achieve that allusive sub 30 min 5km.  Who knows, but for now I’m going to ignore the meh, and see where consistency takes me.

One other thing I’m including in my runs (well depending on where I’m running) is throwing in some hills.  I’ve always been terrified of hills (walking, hiking, running, an incline is a mountain and knackers me out big time, I just don’t have the lungs for it).  But I need to learn not to fear hills.  I also know that on the half marathon route there is a dip which I ran once before (in a heatwave as it happened) and it almost killed me (I don’t think many people realise about the Hyde park mountain).  So I have been throwing in the Regents Park mountain (otherwise known as primrose peak! – actually to be honest, I run up the side of it, but that is still quite an incline).  I’m hoping by talking the big mountains, the Hyde park peak won’t seem so daunting on the day.  Fingers crossed.