Bridges in Distance are Closer Than They Appear

Today’s run was the second run of week five, the halfway point of the C25K. So, this is a slightly extended edition of the blog 🙂

First off, I’d like to say a quick “thank you!” to all who’ve supported me so far, especially people who’ve commented on the blog here. I don’t always reply to every comment, but I do always read them, and it’s fab encouragement, so ta!

Oh, and a special mention to Benjohn, who got me running in the first place by producing the best iPhone application for lazy geeky runners that the world has ever known.

Anyway. I started out this evening with trepidation and a dodgy leg. And a slightly unsettled stomach (mostly due, I’m sure, to the mountain of junk I used to keep me going through yesterday’s exhaustion.)

Not only that, but these would be the longest runs so far — two eight minute runs, with a break in between.

I had a bit of gyp from the leg during the warm-up, especially over the footbridge I cross at the beginning. But it seemed to warm up okay once I actually got running. The first few minutes of running were easier than last time, too, it seemed.

I mentioned last time how nice it was to have the Clifton Suspension Bridge as my halfway marker. Today that smooth turned a little rough, as I could see the bridge from the beginning, and knew that I’d have to run all the way there before I could take a break!

But I just got on with it. Just putting one foot in front of the other, keeping to my usual pace, and plodding along to David Bowie and The Damned and a few others.

And I made it to the bridge fine, no problems. Cool!

The way back is often easier, for me. This time it wasn’t bad at all. I was helped immensely by Jam and Spoon’s Right in the Night, which is odd, as I have no idea how the heck it got into my iTunes library. It’s not normally my kind of thing. But I’m glad it was there, as it’s a good running tune.

As it faded out, I jogged up the little ramp onto the A4 flyover that’s been the usual last challenging bit of my runs, and I was just about central over the river when Get Running told me it was time to stop. Huzzah!

In celebration, I figured I’d shoot the above few seconds of video, as a bit of a visual progress record. Also, the route was looking quite pretty tonight, although I was still a bit too out of breath to be very steady with the camera 🙂

So, that’s it — the halfway mark. Next run is twenty minutes uninterrupted, and then it’s a gradual build-up to the full half hour. I think I can do this. And I’m definitely enjoying it.