Runniversary 2

It's two months since I began running. I ran 34 kilometres this week, up from the 10 or 11 I ran my first week. In the past month I've been running a lot more on the trails, now that the snow has pretty much gone, and that's been really enjoyable. I no longer spend my time running concentrating on the good I'm doing for myself and on the running itself. Instead I'm enjoying the scenery, the changes in the natural world, the sights and smells, and the meditative experience of just trucking along.

I had hoped this month to crack the 10-minutes-per-mile barrier and I managed that quite easily. My fastest 5k pace last month was 10:24 per mile (6:27 per km), and that on a relatively flat route. This month on my usual hilly 5k my fastest pace was 9:35 per mile (5:57 per km). So my speed has come up a lot.

Mostly, though, I've been enjoying the longer slower runs. I usually take the dog, and sometimes Sophie accompanies us on her bike. My weekly "long slow distance" has more than doubled from 7 km to 14.5 km. I'm beginning to toy with the possibility of running a Half Marathon (21 km) next year. My goal for the year is 500 miles. The past two months have put me a quarter of the way there.