My "City2Surf"

It might seem strange calling this my 14k version of Sydney's  "City2Surf" but I like to do a mock run over the distance of some of the country's top fun runs. And, besides, I started today's run in the City of Devonport and ran alongside the surf at both Coles Beach and Bluff Beach and also down part of the Mersey River, which, in high swells, often has surfers at the mouth catching the waves.

First, some negatives about today's run:

1. By the time I had run about 4k I felt that I was struggling to get enough air into my lungs.
2. Between 9k-11k I felt a bit light-headed and wondered whether I would faint along the way.
3. At 12k I had a bit of a cramp in my left hamstring but it soon passed, though I did slow to make it easier. I also had a bit of soreness in my lower right hamstring (a normal thing for me) before halfway and some tenderness in the hip (need to do all my stretching exercises more regularly).

Overall I thought it was a good run without any wind at all. I'm sure that I am feeling the ill affects of a lack of LSD runs of late - caused by an upper thigh muscle strain, having two teeth out and my generally feeling like I'm living in a bit of a black hole at times. When I have started an LSD over the last few weeks I haven't been able to finish what I had planned. If I can get back to them (probably after our September holiday) then, hopefully, it will help me to eventually run a marathon.

During the early part of my run I also prepared how I want to handle tomorrow's children's story!

 I had two stops at bubblers in Splits 4 and 8 but missed the third bubbler I was going to stop at on the return leg. Perhaps I should have taken my fuel belt with a couple of bottles in it.

Last year I ran 1:28:57 or 6:22/k. Today (though the course was slightly different in that I ran 7k from home along the Bike Track and then did the return leg instead of using the old Devonport Triathlon Course with an extra 4k on the Bike Track) I ran it in 1:21:20 or 5:49/k. While I ran the outward leg until my Garmin told me it was 7k (a bit further than the council marker) it recorded the return leg over the same course at 6.93k so I'm not sure exactly how far I ran

My time is also a 2:25 PB from my previous best over that 14k course when in training.

 My splits, for which I was quite pleased regarding consistency till the 9k mark, can be found at:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/106049409