My 20 mile run today

It's 5am and the alarm goes off. Don't really feel like getting out of bed, so I pick up the iphone and check Twitter to see if my friends are online to offer some encouragement - no-one around.

Then I remember I have made a commitment to meet a friend at Saltaire, who, as it turned out did not turn up because of a crisis she had to attend.

So i'm on the train (getting some very funny stares from people wondering why I'm wearing shorts and just a thin base layer in this weather) heading for Leeds railway station Tweeting as I go. I arrive in Leeds at 06:30 there's no hanging aroung around, I nip through the station to Weatherspoons and start my Garmin Forerunner 405 - I'm off!

I know the route quite well because I've run it a few times. I tend to think of it as 3 x 10ks (plus a little bit) So I always know if I'm on schedule to a good time.

 

Then I hit disaster...crossing the beautifully lit bridge over the River Aire to join the canal I realise there are no lights and it's pitch black. Not a problem in itself, but it's also icy on the towpath and I'm having to run very differently and cannot get a rythm going. I also cannot see the huge water filled pot holes.  As I said, I have run this 20 mile route many times, and at 06:30 too, but this was the first time in January. Big mistake because I knew these conditions were likely to be all the way to Rodley 7 miles away. I was right.

Just past Rodley, the light was better, and the ice had gone, but my legs were now shattered. The hard conditions over the first 7 miles had ruined any chance of a new personal best time today.

Frustrated at missing my chance of a new personal best time, previously set on my last run on 28th November at 2:49:42, I spent ages 'beating myself up' and feeling sorry for myself. What I should have done as an experienced runner, was stand back and question 'why'?

It was only after Tweeting my results to my friends and getting some good feed back in return, It began to dawn on me. It was the conditions....... it was not me at all. Now I feel better, thanks to my friends. Who said Twitter has no value?

So thanks to my Twitter friends x

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