Let it shine! Long run Friday....

Well today (yes it may be Friday but I'm not at work so it's ok)... was the day. The day for the longest long run since valentines day (which was a 12 miler) and the longest post injury run.

To be honest I was a little apprehensive. I had had my porridge I had had my coffee. I had delayed the run by playing fetch with the kitty..... I wanted to go run. But wasn't sure what it was going to do to me. But pyschologically both I really wanted to go over the 10mile mark before my HIM distance race at the end of this month, and also in preperation for Challenge Barcelona in Oct I felt I wanted to go longer and yes maybe risk the foot.

I had a 10mile route planned (used SportTracks to look back at my previous longer runs from last year to find a suitable 10miles).... I set my watch to the 1.5mile intervals with 30s rest. I went out with a small gel bottle type filled with some High Five sports drink with extra salts, and also a High Five Iso Gel. It was mid morning. I was ready to go.... I was worried. I headed off.

No sooner had I started my phone rang, I figured as I was just warming up (and not out of breath) I could answer it whilst running... LOL... it was a nothing call but then I saw a text from Jules whilst the phone was in my hand... Jules is my virtual Tri training buddy (he lives in Scotland - and probably doesn't realise he's a virtual training partner until he reads this...ha ha .... )... anyway he was resposponding to a text I had sent him about my procrastination of getting out on the run... the text read; "Run Doris run, and stop visualising the worst - you'll be fine"

Umm so this got me thinking... he was right.. I was being fearful of the worst. I was thinking too much about it. And the visualisation comment got me thinking to what I should be thinking... and what I should be visualising. So as I headed out in the first mile I started visualising and thinking the following; "Run tall. Run Easy. Keep HR low. Relax." I visualised me running easy in the breeze. I visualised me finishing easy and strong in the last mile of the 10 ahead. Prior to this I HAD been thinking it WAS going to hurt so "just get on with it".

I changed my thinking. I made it more positive. I visualised and imagined comfortable running. During the run I hooked back onto this several times and the feelings this invoked.

I have never really followed this approach before. I've usually concentrated on HR/ Pace/ intervals or something else. Not this time. I tried not to worry about my pace. I just wanted to run tall, comfortable, free. I did look at HR - if it got too high (ie in the low 150s I relaxed and backed off the pace, unless I was heading up a hill which was fine).

I had some fluid every 1.5 miles and on the break at approx 4.5 I took my gel. Felt like I could have done with another but as I was nearing the 10mile marker I got a great song on the headphones;

Take That - Shine

This has some pretinent lyrics in here for all sorts of reasons...

It made me smile.

I was on my last mile. I was running free with the breeze. I was running easy. How I visualised this run had turned into reality. I hadn't worried about the foot since reading Jules' message. I had had a BRILLIANT run. I upp'ed the pace just because I could. I finished strong with a perfect smile on my face (well in my imagination, I'm sure I probably looked pretty awful actual but still)...

"Don't you let your demons pull you down
'Cause you can have it all, you can have it all"

Let it shine is what I say!

And here's a pretty picture (well graph).... the pace spike at 4.75 miles is where I stopped to take a stone out of my shoe!

10.5miles done in 1hr 45 with my HR in my IM zone 2 for the most (except for a couple of hills and my burst home at the end)... FAB! :)