This is the first real long run on my training cycle. It always feels like you’ve crossed a bit of a line when you run over a half marathon. This was my longest run since Berlin Marathon at the end of September and before that I have to go back until mid August when I last ran further than this. It’s funny what I often struggle with on these runs is the time it’s going to take more than the distance. The thought when I leave the house that I’m going to be running for two and a half hours is far more daunting than thinking I’m going to run 15 miles.
I had a lot of family stuff going on yesterday so pushed this run back a day. There was an overnight frost, so it was very cold and quite foggy when I left home nicely layered. Once I found my stride the first 10km was lovely. I had dropped down to the river by then, but at about the half way mark the air quality really seemed to drop and I was struggling a bit – once I got to ten miles everything got back on track again – although it definitely wasn’t as easy as I’d have liked it to have been.
All in all a beautiful misty morning run and a huge tick for me on my training plan. Which makes me really happy.
