A group of us headed off at 9:30 from Roehampton Gate in Richmond Park, on a course which would take us on a long and, in places, hilly but picturesque route through two parks and along a stretch of the Thames. It was partly an out and back route, something I've tried to avoid on long runs in an attempt to keep things fresh. It didn't matter and, at times, it helped the mind visualise and prepare for what was ahead, so long as you hadn't depreciated the size of the hills and distances in the miles in between.It was the first time, probably since school cross-country, that I'd run in a group. The longer training runs, in preparation for New York, had been in the company of my wife, cycling alongside. This time round, I don't have that luxury, so the group was a welcome break from the monotony of the long solo runs I'd completed in the weeks before. And I'm not 100% sure I would have run the whole distance if it hadn't been for the people around me.
After 16 miles, not being physically or mentally used to such long distances, the psychological battle began. Strangely, my pace had quickened. I checked my watch several times around the 15-17 mile distance, to discover we had started to clock at 8 min/mile pace. We'd set out at just over 9. At some point, my legs had decided they either wanted this to be over as quickly as possible or to stop and that an in between state of a slow jog was unacceptable. Of course, this took it's toll and I could feel my heart rate rising and my legs getting seemingly heavier. My mind eventually won the battle over the legs as I managed to slow the pace down to around the 8:30 min/mile mark for the remaining 4 miles. I certainly wasn't prepared for that, legs wanting to stop yes, legs wanting to go faster than I knew was sensible, well I'm glad I learnt that one now and not on race day.
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