Happy on the Inside

I'm a reluctant runner.  With a rather busy life it's by far the easiest way to fit in decent exercise.  I much prefer swimming in theory, but getting to the pool is a hassle.  I'd much prefer to get my exercise on a nice long bike ride, but it lacks the intensity.  So I run.  Then something happens, a work trip, a minor illness, a week of bad weather, and I lose momentum.  So from time to time I find myself doing Couch to 5km again to get back into it and rebuild fitness. 

I've just done my first run after finishing Couch to 5k on a route I enjoy running, but tend to keep away from when building up again.  It takes a nice loop down to towards the Forth, but ends with a 45m climb back up to the level of my house.  That makes it a good test of fitness, but not the easiest to manage pace (which I find important when rebuilding).

Still, I made it back up the hill and completed my 5km in 29:26 which I'm pretty pleased with.  I consider myself on form when I can do sub-30-minutes and even with the hill I managed to pace myself to have a few seconds to spare.  I'll call that a result.

This is an immediately-post-run-still-breathing-heavily selfie.  The first one I took looked totally miserable.  This one looked better through the sweat, but I now realise I still look pained...  I was happy on the inside though!