Just back...

I've just got back from is evenings run, it is the first road run I have done on my own since the half marathon and I averaged 9:44 mins per mile over 5.49 miles. This is my best training time so far and to be honest is surprised me because I didn't feel as though I was running quite as fast.

I also still ache from yesterday.

Yesterday evening I went along to a training session with Steyning Athletic Club. I have always been very hesitant about sports clubs, to be honest I've never been to one in my life. They always seem to be full of ultra fit looking Lycra covered people who (in my mind) could run forever and still arrive without a hair out of place. I suppose in someways this goes back to my school days. There were always the "sporty" girls, normally taller than me, thinner than me, blonde, without spots and really popular with the boys. Then there was me. Short, with freckles and if I'm honest a bit geeky. For me PE was like torture. I was no good at any of it, struggled with coordination and if I could find a way of getting out of it I would. So, from then on I have avoided anything that may vaguely be athletic. I have tried going to the gym, but sooner or later I lose the motivation when I didn't seem to be making progress..... And I always felt like a blob compared to everyone else there.... Maybe everyone at the gym felt the same as me... and if I had enough breath to talk maybe it would have been different....

So anyway, last night I took the plunge and went to the athletic club. Everyone was really friendly and I was assured that I wouldn't be left behind, they structure the training sessions so you can work at your own pace but still in a group. Last nights session was speed work. I'm not fast, everything I have done so far is normally at one pace and this is one area I know I need to improve. Last night ended with a sprint relay..... I sprinted..... And today I really can feel it in my thighs ! I enjoyed training in a group and next week I will be back with completed membership form :)

Getting back this evening I actually realise that I enjoy my road runs almost as much as the cross country.... They are both different and both push me in different ways but I had missed the road runs over the last couple of weeks.....


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