Two ways of looking at the same run:
The negative
- I ran-walked. A lot.
- Especially up hills. I chickened out of hills.
- I can’t control my pace, I keep going a bit too fast then having to walk.
- There’s no way I can do a marathon.
The positive
- I covered 7 miles, which is the longest I’ve done since 2013. I’ve also not done a full 6 miles for a few weeks (due to illness and falling over halfway through last week’s)
- It’s a hilly route and I did manage the first couple of uphills that I didn’t think I could do.
- My overall pace was pretty much what I would have been aiming at.
- No one is making me do a marathon tomorrow, I’ve got until November.
- Nothing hurt and I didn’t fall over.
I think, overall, I managed to shout down the negatives.
Shout then down, you did indeed.
Not falling over is always a good start.
Your long runs are meant to be slow. It is time on feet not speed that is important so I recon you are bang on track.
I agree that time on feet is what counts at this stage. I walked most of the hills in the marathon I did, I realised when I tried to run them that everyone who walked then overtook me at the top! 7 miles is great – well done!