This morning I realised my running progress can be charted in a different way. I used to run the 1.8km outside loop at the park near our house because I knew that if I thought I might not make it, I could always cut my run short and walk through the park back home.

 

Then I decided one day to run the perfect 5km loop that goes past our house. This was a big step, because there is no short cut. If you want to go home after 2.5 km, you may as well continue on.
 

I could just run that loop twice or three times when I have to do my longer runs, but after a while I found my 1.8km loop a bit boring, so chances are that will make the 5km loop boring instead. 

 

Now Jeremy and I are plotting out a 10-15 km running loop shaped like a flower, so there are areas where we are relatively close to home that we can use as escape routes if we need to use the loo or refill water bottles.

 

Soon we’ll have to start finding routes where there are hills so we can avoid training solely on flat ground and then racing on hills.

 

Progress is being made.

 

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We’ve both signed up for a course presented by The Running Centre on running technique so that we can become more efficient in our running style.

 

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I’ve paid my entry fee for the Half Marathon, and I’ve got the opportunity to do a long run on the actual half marathon course in January, so I’m considering that recce.