A Very Long Run....

Parts of DF Rd with top soil washed away...no wonder my legs are weary!

Well, for me it was!

Program : 24km @ 7:41m/k

.....and this

Other sections as lovely as ever!

I haven't run that distance in ages!  I didn't worry about the pace; I was totally worried though by the distance!  I started with 2km warm-up around the school, followed by 14km on DF Rd.  At the 10k mark I stopped for what started out as a chat with Doug and Cheryl (who live on a 100 acre property on DF Rd) but which lasted almost an hour with a walk around the garden  and stables for two Appaloosa horses and coffee on the verandah in the company of a lovely old dog, three tame hens who rolled on their sides in the sun - I've never seen hens roll about like this - and a tiny lizard only about six inches long who comes up to be fed by hand......all these different creatures living together in harmony!   I saw some of the eggs these hens lay and I can honestly say I have never seen such big eggs...not just big, they were huge!

I found it difficult to get started again after such a long break, but the coffee kicked in and I soon got back into some sort of rhythm and by 16km I was back where I started.  Short stop for a gel and water and then off around Renwick for the last 8km.  I thought the final 4km would never end, I was so tired; but it did end thankfully right back where I started over 3 hours earlier....and that's not counting the long coffee break!

The outcome of this long day :  24km in 3:13:04
                                                   Avg. Pace 8:03m/k
                                                   5km splits:  41:14;  40 :58;  40:22;  39:12; and 4k in 31:16.

I feel very tired tonight, but it was a glorious day to be out!