Taking the learning from Saturday's 10k, I decided to run today's 5k by heart rate. Having found that my HR of 145 bpm corresponds to a conversational pace I used that as my upper limit and eased off whenever my HR went above that point. My route is flat so that works for me. Unlike Saturday, instead of walking I dropped to a slower jog to get below target and that worked much better with no undershoots and overshoots like Saturday.
It was dry but overcast with a light breeze and mild enough for t-shirt and shorts. My first 1k came up in just over 6 minutes and I thought 'hmm this could be interesting' but I was determined to run to my HR target and accept whatever time it took, on the basis that as I get stronger and fitter the time will come down naturally.
I was mostly thinking about my form – forefoot striking, upright body with head in line with my spine, striking the ground beneath my hips and having springy knees (well I know what I mean by that!). Well, to my surprise I set a new PR of 29' 31"! This running lark can be so fulfilling when it goes well, can't it?
I walked home (cool down) took on some water and changed into my new Nike Free RNs. Having watched a few YouTubes on how to adapt to minimalist shoes, I followed the advice of jogging just 1k in them to start. I went back over to the field and did one lap, forefoot striking with a fast (180 spm) cadence to complete 0.85 km in 5 minutes. And they felt great – I'm not got to rush it but I'm looking forward to running many miles in them. Happy running!
New shoes and a PB for 5k :)
Gave my new shoes their 1st run tonight 😊
New shoes for a new beginning 
First run with new shoes
