I had a great 2-hour run last week, pace was nothing exceptional but the distance was 13 miles/20k and the scenery and trails on the way were well worth the effort.
I've mentioned before the desire to reach the furthest available hill, my usual routes have a "beacon" hill on the horizon that has been calling me, "siren-like" for as long as I can remember and today I decided to reach it, one way or the other.
I got lost twice, ended up running through private property and seeing a deer. I asked a bus driver and a dog-walker for directions and used google maps (thanks iphone) to locate a public footpath, but eventually I made it.
A five minute stop and a 9-bar (nutrition, not cannabis) later I ran a whole different way home.
Using the new Nike+ app is a change having moved from adidas micoach. I find the Nike app much better, it allows gps recording when iphone is worn on the arm, has better music management and some other very cool elements.
What I liked most about this run was that I did it myself, without a need to get somewhere, no other competitors or target pace, I gave it 100% on the hills and reached half marathon distance along the way.
I think every run teaches you something.
Sometimes the lessons are learned afterwards when you get back and realised you could have gone further.
Other times you realise as you lace up your running shoes that you have dedication where others do not.
This run taught me that anything is possible if you can imagine it. And I know how stupid that sounds, but I have come a long way in under two years. I've run to the horizon and made it back alive. I've entered competieions that I wiould never have though possible and in six months alone I've lost two stone of fat which has haunted me (ghost-fat?) for years and have got others interested in running along the way.
The question then isn't what can I achieve, but "what can't I?"
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