Ghost Running with M

Tuesday 3rd February

Run #34

10k Out & Back to Kew Green with M

One of the unexpected benefits of M's marathon training schedule (as opposed to the vacant stares of exhaustion and post-long-run inability to stand. Or make sentences) has been that his recovery pace is just on the edge of my comfortable pace. What is well into recovery for him is probably endurance pace for me but still *just* about able to hold a conversation, albeit a tad heavy breather-y.

10k is further than I've tended to go on a school night so far. Last year, before I started this Streak the most I'd been running in an average week was about 25k over 3 separate runs. I had a vague thought about not ramping up my mileage too fast and kyboshing the Streak before I'd started with overuse injuries. Something in my brain has been thinking that if I kept my weekday runs pretty short and remained committed to long run Sunday, I'd avoid that eventuality. But a 10k at the sort of pace we were contemplating did not seem problematic and I wasn't worried.

So we set off together tonight for a nice cruisey 10k. M is a fan of the 'out and back' routes and I can see the logic; at least half the run feels like heading home. And I do find I manage to motivate myself better when I can mentally visualise the route distance. One of the most surefire de-motivators for me in a race is thinking I know what's coming up only to have a course add in an unexpected loop, or double-back; cue instantaneous lead-legs and toddler tantrums. But this route was a well-trodden and fairly straight run out through Richmond, round The Green, then out to the gates of Kew Gardens and back.

The whole length of one side of Kew is enclosed by a 20 foot wall that the road hugs along it's length. The last time I ran this way, a good 6 months ago, the pavement was a mess of pot-holes and exposed roots. Having since been entirely resurfaced it was a ribbon of glossy black tarmac and a dream to run on. It wasn't particularly late but something about the cold-provoked breath clouds and the new over-white street lighting that has also been installed along the route made it feel much later and much more like a night run than 6pm evening run. A huge full moon illuminating the scudding clouds added to the ethereal feel; a proper ghost run.

Conversation flowed quite easily, neither of us too tired or breathless, and the k passed without at any point feeling too arduous. A very enjoyable road run and another 10k under the feet.