My first 10 mile run

I was so pleased when Z agreed to do a longer run with me tonight. She has the Great North Run coming up so it fitted pretty well with her training. Agreed on 10 miles - 16K and further than I've ever run before. One of the reasons I was chuffed is that Z is the Queen of Pacing - she is incredibly consistent so I figured she'd be the ideal partner. I was pleasantly surprised to get a a note from L who I hadn't seen for a few months saying that she'd be coming too. And J, despite feeling a little sore from her first ever 10K on Monday, decided to join us for part of teh route.
We did a figure of 8 route - starting off climbing up through Stoke Park Woods as it would have been criminal not to on a beautiful evening! The rest of the route was road - and comparatively flat - so we did the hard bit first.

And we did it! 110 minutes which I'm pleased with - esp as the aim was to simply do the distance, not to push speed. J did the first 7.5K as she'd planned. So good to have Z, J and L to chat to which made it enjoyable rather than a slog. And the Queen of Pacing's skills were much used - my knee was starting to declare its presence after 9K, but all I had to do was slow slightly to Z's perfect speed and it cleared.

Best of luck to Z - I'm convinced she'll be fine with the half marathon based on tonight's run. And I'm no longer dreading the Great South - just need to watch my pacing!