So... I ran 5k yesterday (I did!), and have been ever so good with my rest days this far, but Tuesday nights I have to wait for my son for an hour at an athletics stadium... so I thought, ok, Iโll just do a short one... but maybe a faster one?!! Please?! I want to see what different speeds feel like... Oh yeah... Iโm a graduate. Letโs do it!
So I put some music on... Iโm finding Iโm getting really fussy about music now. If it isnโt right, it interferes, and even if itโs good, it becomes background. I want to be in the run, in the moment. Music seems to take me out of the zone. Funny, I loved the tunes at the beginning of C25k, but I wasnโt really enjoying the running then... The guided runs with talking and interviews I have been enjoying; might be time to try some podcasts...
So my plan was to walk warm up, run 1k slowish, walk 1k, run as fast as fitness levels will sustain, and then walk 1k. I thought that counted as maybe 1k of proper effort?!
My warm up run was a bit too fast for a proper warm up at 6โ04โ. I had been aiming more for 6โ45โ. Note to self: Iโm really rubbish at pacing... my brisk walking pace was 8โ50โ for k2... then came the โrunโ. Oh my Lord. I wasnโt sprinting, not by a long chalk, but I was running and I realised again just what a long way 1k can feel and how long a minute can be and how unfit I still am. I slowed down but couldnโt recover, so just kept gasping for air and plodding on. When the 3k was called I stopped dead and pretended to be pausing to do lunges, when actually, I was just desperately trying to breathe. I started walking and recovered pretty quickly, walking the final 1k in 8โ58โ. (Actually, I tried some wiggly walking and found I could go under 8โ quite easily, but I got a stitch doing it).
I didnโt know how fast I had gone as NRC was calling out the overall average and I was too zonked to count time. I checked it after and... 5โ13โ! Completely unsustainable, of course, but hey ho.
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ktsok
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Itโs a committed relationship: I have just spent some serious dosh on a running watch and a little running bag thing, like a life vest, that I can stuff my waterproof in and some water for the longer runs I can see in the fuzzy distance ๐
Oooh nice, running in London! How lovely that your daughter is so supportive of you.
The finishing line is in sight, mafee. You have done 28 minutes, itโs just a slow boat home now... ๐ฃโโ๏ธ
Wow. Great running... 5:13 is quick! One day that can be youโre 5k pace, and youโre 1k will be even quicker... whatโs even more impressive is that you did that after 2k of cardio... a pure 1k run could easily be quicker. As the fitness rises and you get used to the speed sessions and fartleks you can gradually map that pace onto a tempo run, and extend it. Youโre doing an amazing job.
Aw thanks UNM. You continue to always say the right thing ๐ I feel amazing now ๐
Iโm so used to โjudgingโ my runs by how I feel (comfortable, relaxed, something left in the tank) that I didnโt think I had done very well (having to stop). But it was alright, wasnโt it?! Thank you. Itโs really hard to go a faster pace when you have been doing nothing but: slow, slower,slower still, for 9 weeks! A whole new ball game ๐ฌ๐
No... it wasnโt alright... it was amazing and you were awesome! All that slow enabled the fast... it still will, remember that the pros run 80+% of their miles comfortably... do that and your fast will get faster.
When you go fast... you finish on empty... nice comfortable some in the tank run next.
Ooooh! Go you!!! Exciting! I on the other hand have been back on the couch with lurgy ๐คง๐จ๐คข not a happy bunny ๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐ but ce la vie I guess. Not one to stay down long tho, so in my best arnie voice 'I will be back'.
You are amazing. Itโs been such fun having this journey together and now watching you spread your wings. Iโm right behind you all the way, and will be cheering you on from the beach next week ๐
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