Midweek: Kirkstall Abbey 3k

Well, 3k is better than 0k, at least. This morning, on a visit to see relatives in Leeds, I actually got a brief run in. Waking up with a bad head and a stiff back, I really didn't think it was on the cards, so tucked into a sugar-rich breakfast (holidays, innit!) only to be then be guilt-tripped by the wife into heading out as I'd planned the night before. 😂

In truth, I owe her one; I'm really glad she pushed me. Even if I felt pretty weak, it was a necessary step to get back running again.

So, as the title of the post says, I ran around the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey. In fact, the first kilometre was entirely downhill or flat, on the way to the abbey. A 20-second breather later — crossing the busy road took a while — and I was in the abbey grounds, running past gloriously crowded carpets of crocus.

The lap around the abbey felt like about 400m, with only a small amount of undulation, but it also felt hard. Whether that was down to declining fitness from recent inactivity, my stomach trying to digest my recent breakfast, or both, I couldn't say. All I know is I occasionally felt a bit faint. 😞

After a couple of these laps, I decided to head back, figuring about 3k was fine for today. I crossed back over the road and around the park heading towards the steep hill that led back to our Airbnb. Aaaand... I caved. I couldn't face the hill and another potential dizzy spell and chose to stop the run. Google Fit reckoned I'd done 3.02km and I walked the next couple of hundred yards uphill. That break was enough to get my composure back so I then ran up the steps and back up the somewhat gentler hill to the house. This last wasn't recorded on Fit, but the shame of having chosen to walk meant that only felt right.

So, I may have re-entered the house looking and feeling a bit glum, but one positive that shone out of this was that I'd completely forgotten about the hip. It didn't trouble me or even threaten to niggle me once. Let's hope that's it out of the way now and I can just focus on getting my fitness and, ultimately, my pace back. 💪

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