It's Friday, it's 2 0'clock and it's...

...long run time.  Another Friday afternoon off, but this time in the company of Hinsley, so running to do, and long running at that.

Rich decided to prepare by having fish, chips and peas for lunch, which is an interesting approach, but we set off a couple of hours later from Silsden and headed off to the canal.  The plan was to run to the 10m point then turn round, then for Rich to cut off at Crossflatts to do 15, whereas I'd carry on back to get 20 in.  Having done 22 the last two long runs I thought I'd have a minor cut back prior to Blackpool half before another couple of weeks of longer runs, culminating in either a 24 or maybe a 26 (both very steady - no marathon pace nonsense...).

This route is really good for me mentally, as very quickly you're onto familiar ground and ticking off the landmarks.  We managed to keep the pace pretty consistent at about 7:40 to the turn, then slowed just a little on the way back, but we hit the top of 3 Rise locks with the overall average pace on 7:44, which is remarkable as the target was 7:45.  Richard was complaining of sore legs, but this isn't surprising given that he's done very few long runs, and nothing much over 10m for months.  I was feeling ok, but still hadn't decided whether to do any MP miles towards the end.

In the event the temptation of getting a few miles done quickly proved too much, so as the watch hit 14.5m I set off, with no particular idea of how long I'd do the effort for.  I've started putting my Garmin onto the "lap pace" screen for these efforts so I don't get distracted by weird pace blips, but the pace during the first few hundred yards was reading about 6:15 so I was obviously going a bit too quick.

The first mile beeped showing 6:34, so a good 10-15 seconds quicker than MP, but it didn't feel too uncomfortable so I tried to hold the pace.  In the end I did a 4m effort with splits of 6:34, 6:32, 6:30 and 6:30.  Far too quick, but confidence inspiring in that I could hold that pace for 4 miles after 14.5m of running.  I did the last mile and a half back to the car at a slightly brisker than "slow" pace, and a great deal quicker than my shuffle back to Paul's 3 weeks ago, with a pace of about 7:15.

Good to get another one done, but looking forward to a "week off" doing Blackpool Half next Sunday!