This is just a quick post to update you on my challenge this week, which you may remember was to run for 60 minutes brisk again, but try to do better than last week. Wednesday was the day, so I stocked up on porridge (with fresh blueberries and condensed milk), waited a bit for it to settle and set off. I did the same route as last week, which starts off downhill and then takes in a bit of the not very nice main Aldershot Road before veering off along a very nice stretch of road towards Wood Street Village. A couple of months ago I'd have told you this road was really hilly, now I just see it as gently undulating, with as much down as up, and no really long stretches of incline so I am never too far from the top.
I went as far as around the green in the village and back again, and to cut a long story short I did it! Exactly 6 miles in 66 minutes 08 seconds - a few tiny seconds quicker and I'd have been under 11 minutes a mile, but I was very pleased with that, especially as I feared I had started too quickly and by two miles I was struggling and having to adopt a "run three minutes, walk 30 seconds" regime while I got my breath back and managed to get back into rhythm. I had my "Running Tunes" playlist on (save the book for long slow runs) and at key moments it must have known how I was feeling as it threw some crackers my way - and bear in mind this is MY choice of music so no snide comments... Born to Run is of course great motivation; Knights of Cydonia by Muse has a great driving beat; and Katy Perry just had me singing my head off: "I am a champion and you're gonna hear me ROAR!" (The one or two passing motorists at this point may have thought I was a bit mad but what the heck!)
Oh, and I have made myself some homemade energy bars:
Loads of fruit and nuts, chocolate and honey and probably about 1000 calories a piece... I am allowed to eat things like this now.
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