The first part of the run up behind the prison was magical. I took a path I’d not taken before, and it took me round the edge of the ridge overlooking the Downs as they head towards Brighton. The grass was head height (the photo doesn’t do it justice), and from time to time the Downs came into view bathed in sunlight.
Hovering over the scene was a paraglider, still and quiet on a magical evening – frankly I should have turned the music off…
But, I was concentrating on trying to beat the 30 minute mark for 5km. The run felt good, I pushed myself from the start and every time I found my pace slowing I had enough to push the pace back up again.
Right at the top of the run, as I slalomed the sheep, there was a bird hovering above me, singing sweetly; a second magical moment I probably could have enjoyed more.
So it was a bit of a shock 20 minutes in to find out from Run Keeper that I was running at 9.7 km an hour, on target to miss the target.
Still it had been mostly uphill to that point. So I pushed it some more as I came down Landport Bottom, really stretched out the legs. And, after hovering just below the 10 km/ hour mark for most of the run, hit 5 km at 29 minutes 30 seconds.
I should also report back on child #1’s debut in the 1,500m. As I mentioned in earlier posts, with less than three week’s notice she’d been picked to run the 1,500m; a distance she’d never run before. While being very impressed with her willingness to push herself, I couldn’t get her below the 9 minutes 30 seconds mark. However, it was the race today and she came third out of seven, coming in at 7 minutes 12 seconds. #ProudDad!
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