Mini Disaster To Major Achievement

Wednesday: The weather was very cold today, icy wind and it had been raining before I began my run. With a bottle of Lucozade in hand, I planned a 20min run, and I spent extra time stretching and warming up to make the run easier on me. It started well, despite a lot on my mind, I felt good and I had a new playlist of songs I enjoyed listening to. However, mini disaster struck, as I discovered my mobile phone's stopwatch had stopped without me noticing. I was furious, I didn't want to have a 'wasted' session, not knowing how long I had been running for and I very nearly stopped. Luckily, I remembered that my run began with the start of the music playlist, so I kept running, deciding I could add up the song lengths later to get an accurate time for my run. After a while, the sadist in me kicked in, and I wanted to see how far I could push myself, so began the 'run till I drop' idea, which, rightly or wrongly, was influenced by an incredibly preoccupied mind. Still, I was fairly sensible in keeping a very slow pace when the body ached, and going speedy gonzales when the arteries to pain were numb. I had a dozen songs on the playlist and I stopped just after the music ended, though I do think I could have gone on, but the worry of injury essentially ended my run. I was gasping for breath at the end but I wasn't as excited as previous runs, perhaps my serious state of mind limited the effects of the endorphins. I did have reason to be excited; I discovered later, when I eventually found the time to calculate my time and distance, I covered 7.41km in 55min 16secs :o) This is the longest I have run to date, as well as the most distance covered. I was surprised I did so much, I could not think about times without my mobile stopwatch, so I had been busy thinking about other things, and listening to music, as well as concentrating on running effectively. I am pleased to have gone over 50mins, it means the last time was not a one-off, and it all helps to prepare me for the Salford 5km Run. I am going to think more seriously about setting myself targets for Salford, even though my performance is still quite inconsistent. Also, my over reliance on Lucozade is bothering me a little, I did at least 20mins without any Lucozade because it had finished and whilst it was really tough, I much preferred not carrying a bottle. This is something I need to consider in plenty of time before my first race. Also, I am planning to set aside time to go shopping for a more supportive sports bra, as I am running for longer, and new lycra bottoms which I have seen many runners wear and I need lighter clothing. At the end of the day, my only major pain is my right calf, despite my attempts to make my left leg do more work today. But it feels more worth it today, I am feeling pleased with today's run, and think I may rest tomorrow, to avoid over straining the right leg.