When Ashley tweeted me the other day asking if I would be up for a 16 mile run before work on Friday my first thought was, ‘no way’. My long runs are typically done on a Sunday morning when I have nothing to do afterwards other than sit on the sofa. However, I had really wanted to meet and run with her, and knew that fitting a long run in this weekend when I am out of town would be tough. I agreed to do 10 miles, meeting at Westminster, and set about planning a sightseeing route for her.

We met at Westminster tube station, and ran through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace. It’s so nice being there early before all the tourists descend on it.

Ashley’s photo

Our route then took us up through the park towards Hyde Park. By this point it had started to rain, which could have meant a miserable run, but running with someone always makes a run more fun, whatever the weather.

When Ashley emailed me to tell me what she’d be wearing, she mentioned that she’d have a camel bak on. I’ve been eyeing them up for ages, as I always like to run with water. Luckily, my amazing friends gave me one last night as a belated birthday present. This morning’s run was its first trial run, and I LOVED it. It kept me hydrated throughout, and wasn’t bulky or uncomfortable to wear.

The model the girls bought me is the Nathan Sport Hydration Race Vest HPL 020. It is a dream (although on the website it says ‘perfect for your next 100 miler, er yeah!)

Next stop on our sightseeing run was Kensington Palace, where Kate and Will live. At this point Ashley’s husband text her asking if she was OK, I think she replied that she was hanging out with the Royals!

We ran through Hyde Park, around the Serpentine, where we saw a few swimmers, as well as a guy running in a wetsuit- clearly Triathlon training! I’ve never swum in the Serpetine but think it needs to be added to my London list of things to do.

The run went really well, despite losing satellites on my Garmin. The pace felt really comfortable and we were able to chat the whole way. I’ve come such a long way from when I first started running and couldn’t talk and run at all!

It was great hearing all about Ashley’s move, although I felt like a bit of a creeper since I’ve read her blog for a couple of years! She told me a little about what to expect at the New York Marathon, but I am really going to pick her brains on it during our next run together. We’ve already scheduled in a few other morning runs together, will have to start thinking about some new routes!

We covered about 10 miles, with a rough 10-10.10 min mile pace. Although I haven’t worked out my exact NYC marathon training plan, this certainly counts as the first marthon training long run! We looped around Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Palace Gardens, before finishing where we started at Westminster- totally forgot about the River bit, whoops! It felt great having completed 10 miles before work, and before the weekend, totally understand why Ashley loves Friday morning long runs now!

Do you prefer running with someone or alone? I used to always run alone, however now that I’ve improved my speed and endurance a little, I find it easier to push myself and hold myself accountable when I’m running with someone else! Thanks Ashley for an awesome run, looking forward to the next one already!