We have lift-off!

I am happy to report that Operation Fun Run Training is now underway!

Yesterday I went on my first training run and, to my rather surprised delight, I managed to run non-stop for 5 whole K without too much trauma or difficulty.

Yay :-)

The lovely Mark came with me (although, to him, it was less of a run and more of a brisk walk!) and we ran along the disused railway (which is actually far prettier than it sounds).

The path was almost entirely flat (which figures, I suppose, given the whole railway thing) and, although it was a tiny bit muddy and squishy, it was pretty easy to run along. Having endured a few runs in the forest last summer, where there are twisted tree roots waiting to trip you up at every turn and a horrendously steep hill to scale right before you finish, I really did appreciate just running along a flat, non-treacherous surface. I have a feeling that this may become a regular route :-).

My legs are aching like mad this morning and I've ended up with a blister on the inner arch of my left foot, but over all I'm very happy with how things went. I didn't once reach the point of whining pathetically that it's too hard (which has happened more than once in the past!) and the initial feeling of being painfully out of breath passed far more quickly than I was expecting.

So, to summarise, here are the stats for my first training run:

Distance = 5K
Time = 45 minutes 18 seconds
Average K Pace = 9 minutes 3 seconds

This is now my starting point, which I will (hopefully!) build on.

All in all, I can say that I am feeling far more confident about Operation Fun Run Training than I was this time yesterday :-).