Run: 13.5k in 1 hour 18 minutes.
I have committed myself to get back to running the half marathon or 21.1k distance. That used to be a Saturday thing for me as I would sleep in as much as I could, eat some breakfast, and then wait 2 hours for it to settle before heading out for a 21.1k run. Injuries got in the way and so I'm to the point that I'm trying to get back to something that was once a weekly achievement.
Today's run was about baby steps towards that goal. With some significant vacation time taken, running volume was decreased and my weekly 15k'er had fallen off the schedule. Today was a bit of a compromise as while I wanted to run 15k, I needed to be at work early so I decided on something around 13 to 14k. My kid lives across town and it's about 7k to her house so I set off at 5:30 hoping to be back before 6:45 so I could shower and head off to work.
What I failed to take into consideration is that there is a significant hill in the way and that I'm still tired. I don't know if the tiredness is related to my allergy meds or the consistent 6 hours of sleep I get. No matter, a run has to be done! I get to the top of the hill at the 4k mark for a quick recovery and then trundle on. A kilometre later I'm at a traffic light only to have it change in my favour immediately. Moderate swearing as I was already hoping for another break.
I run on through the upper parts of my town and appreciate that other runners are out doing their stints. I always cheer people on when I run past them. People seem to like being recognized and celebrated so I hope my little encouragement helps. My next goal is the bathroom around the 5.5k mark. I make it there for another pit stop and carry on to my kid's house.
After about 5 minutes or less I'm running by the house waving. The blinds are closed and hopefully they're having an nice morning filled with breakfast, coffee, and thoughts of coming back home that evening. Since this is my turnaround point I head back and simply retrace my path back to home. I stop at the bathroom once again, mostly for a rest and after a short stop get back on the path. Some 20 minutes or so later I'm running up the final stretch towards home clearly labouring. It has been a run, and it's over. Box checked.
Run review: Definite struggle. 5'49"/k