15 mile lessons.

15 miles this morning.

If last Saturday's run was about getting out and getting it done, then today's was definitely about learning.

Usually, I am a great proponent of just hauling myself out of bed, lacing up my trainers and running straight out the door.  The earlier the better.  This has always been fine, as I usually run an average of 5-10 miles on a weekend morning route.  However, after last week's run - which was fun but very hard work - and some lovely people's advice, I was starting to suspect I was making things tougher for myself than they needed to be.

With that in mind, this morning, I had a bit of toast before I got dressed, and drank a glass of water.  (I know this isn't rocket science and my previous habits of running on empty were pretty dire; please don't judge!)  I took one of those hand-shaped water bottles out with me, and put some energy gels in a handy little bumbag.

In her excellent book 'Running Like A Girl', Hemmo (running spirit guide for so many not-really-athletic women) describes energy gels as "jizzy".  I could not get this word out of my head.  And when I first tried the stuff (energy gel, I mean!), it was absolutely vile.  The gel had got unpleasantly warm in my bumbag, which really did not help.  It felt just like when you're a kid and would suck the dregs of a melted Calippo ice lolly.  Only way more disgusting.

Fortunately, I'd been advised in advance (thank you, Leonie - seriously, THANK YOU!) that energy gels can be rough on the stomach.  So, I ingested it sporadically in tiny half-mouthfuls.  Had I not been pre-warned, I'm sure I would have necked the lot and promptly vommed.

As it was, one energy gel sachet (High5 'citrus burst', if you were wondering - I braved GNC and even spoke to a nice young man at length about various options) lasted me the entire run, consuming it fairly frequently but in tiny spurts.  I have no idea if this was totally ridiculous of me or quite sensible (the instructions suggested three whole sachets per hour during exercise, which sounds dreadful to me?!), but I felt totally full of energy and, most importantly, had no gastric/loo-related emergencies.

I was also assisted by the perfect weather conditions, the kind I dream of for marathon day.  Clear, cool, bright and barely any wind whatsoever.

After last week's wind-swept and under-fuelled run, today's honestly felt ten times easier.  I ran the whole way, with no walking whatsoever.  I tweaked my route slightly so as to avoid uphill stretches and crowds of dawdling shoppers during the last few miles, which also made a massive difference.

I got home not feeling completely wrecked and, actually, still pretty full of energy.  I felt like I could have kept going.  Hopefully this is a good sign..?