Tonight I ran something approaching 9 miles [I have to check and measure the distance] in 1hr 31min 50sec, which is not far off of the marathon pace that I hope to be running. I set off for the run at roughly 7:20pm. I did most of the run with a heartrate of 154bpm, again pretty comfortable. The lessons learning are a little more important than these stats...
[1] Don't run on blisters without appropriate protective application, I finished the run with a strange soreness in the blister area. The whole area is tender and the skin is wrinkled and angry.
[2] The most important lesson... do not run alone after dark on unlit paths!! I ran a route around where I live which in large sections follows a river path, I predicted I would be through the section before dark but was wrong. In the woods / shrubs alongside the path a bunch of people were gathered drinking / smoking who knows what... when I approached a dog came running out of their location (clearly an early warning against the approach of police or anyone else), it was barking like crazy and chased me down the path for a good 50 metres. I kept running at the same pace and ignored the dog, following advice I had as a kid... I know nothing of the dog except it was large, brown, excited, and encouraged in its chase by at least one of the party in the woods. Afterwards I was shaken, my heartrate spiked and the rest of the run was a worry.
If you do anything while running, consider your choice of location and time much more than I did. I was so lucky that the dog was not more aggressive or more encouraged by the strangers in the dark.
On a lighter note I did feel very happy with how the running went (I am looking forward to the Cardiff 10k on Sunday), and am looking forward to my second session on the river tomorrow morning.
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