A fun run

Along with around 14,000 others I took part in the AMI Round the Bays fun run this morning. Normally I like Wellington to be hot and sunny but was glad it was overcast today.

I took part last year, but could only walk it. That was still a lot of fun. Also great to help raise money for the Malaghan Institute for cancer research.

My aim this year was to run all 7 kms of it, without needing any walking breaks. I was semi-confident I could do it because I had run more than 7 kms on the treadmill in the gym. But there were four difference which meant I was only feeling 60/40 about being able to run it.

• The treadmill runs had 1 minute walk intervals every 12 minutes, and I had never actually done 7 kms without a break before. The longest previously with no break was 25 minutes.
• I jog on the treadmill at 9 km/hr but tend to jog slightly faster than that outdoors, which isn’t always a good thing as it means the heart rate can get too high too quick.
• Roads are tougher to run on than treadmills
• There is no sun or wind inside

My official goal was to do it in under 60 minutes. I was hoping secretly to do it in under 50 minutes. I was more than happy to get to the finish line in 38 minutes 55 seconds (according to my iPhone app). The pace was just over 10 km/hr which I honestly did not think I could do. Somewhat surprisingly also, each half km my pace was slightly faster than the previous.

Also of interest or  amusement is that a bit of a meme going around Wellington in the last few weeks has been that David Shearer no longer has to worry when David Cunliffe shaves his beard off, but instead when Grant Robertson shaves off a few kilos!

By coincidence I saw Grant taking part in the Round the Bays today 🙂