Today’s run was similar to yesterday’s in so many ways. I felt like I was running at least 10 per cent faster than last week, that my heart rate was lower and that I’d made significant progress over the last seven days.
Now the facts: At other times in my life I may have found very it depressing that I ran today a few seconds slower than last week, despite cooler weather and a breeze. I’ll take a little consolation in the fact that my heart rate was lower at 157bpm.
One difference between this week and last week is that I didn’t take a drink with me today. Nor did I really hydrate during the day at all. Anyway, despite the harsh statistics, today felt fantastic – and that’s what counts.
11m | 1:39:32 | 9:08 | 157bpm | 82.0kg
Wow! Today’s run was wonderful. Somehow weird how frequently this happens, but I barely slept last night – was still awake as the sun came up, I guess around 4:30 – 4:45. Spent the morning gardening, which given the length of our grass and the height and bushiness of the hedges, was quite tiring. We then headed over to my mother’s to walk the dogs and got home around 4:30pm.
Headed out for my usual 11 miler and felt very comfortable. I’m aware that I’m still running too fast (given the heart rate zone), but it was comfortable at this pace. I rectified the mistake I’d made on Thursday and took a 33cl bottle of water with me, just to wet the mouth more than anything. I think it made a difference. I didn’t fade towards the end and, though I could have run another couple of miles, in truth this was well measured and felt spot on for a training run.
A quick bath and I’m ready for another. Roll on tomorrow. Hope I feel this great!!
11m | 1:39:18 | 9:07 | 161bpm | Marathon Pace | 82.6kg
The enjoyment of this afternoon’s run was lessened by an indigestible lunch. A bit pushed for time, we grabbed something quick and grilled a couple of Linda McCartney’s sausages which I had with mustard, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.
Problem was, I was still tasting said sausage after five miles. Not pleasant when it’s hot and you’re so out of shape that what used to be a short run is currently your Sunday long run. Still, guess it’d have been an entirely different kinda hell had it been Paul’s.
Other than that, still great to be out. I need to keep the momentum going and the sciatica at bay. So stretching starts tomorrow.
11m | 1:47:14 | 9:49 | 155bpm
Normally I’d be a bit embarrassed about posting times like this, but I set out today with one target. To nail 153bpm. I failed (but only just) and the run felt blissfully comfortable – as it should since I was practically walking!
Was a lovely day, perhaps a little too warm for the top I was wearing, but it makes carrying the iPod so much easier.
11m | 1:40:14 | 9:10 | 159bpm
This felt much more comfortable than my heart rate implies (quite elevated for what should be a long Sunday run). I should be running at about 8:30 pace and around 151bpm for this distance, which shows just how quickly form is lost when you eat too many vegan muffins and do too little exercise!
Time to put things right and pull myself back into shape. Nonetheless, a really enjoyable run in the sunshine and didn’t feel too taxing at all (but then it shouldn’t at 9 plus minutes per mile!).
