So I ran 6.06km this morning. Quite important, that 0.6! Actually, it kind of is, as it shows I wasn’t so bonked (yes, this is a real running expression for those of you who don’t know), that I ground to a halt as soon as some milestone of distance or time had been reached.
My plan today was to have a nice time by running slowly in the sunshine. I put the Garmin on the Heart Zone screen, intending to stay in Zone 2 (for me, that’s 139-155). Fat chance. Although I was running much slower than usual, my heart rate quickly sprang to humming bird and as much as I tried to breathe, slow down, take tiny steps, it refused to play ball. I gave up on zone 2 and thought I’d try to keep it in the 150’s. I wrestled with the 159/160 for quite some time before giving up on heart rates.
I think part of the difficulty was I was on narrow lanes and you have to keep a bit of an ear out for traffic. Also it was hotter. I have discovered that I need to have my chest and throat exposed; even a thin top feels like a thermal blanket. Also I ended up running a 2km stretch just behind a couple of lady runners who were going slightly slower than my usual pace but faster than the pace I needed to go at to keep my heart rate down. The herd mentality is strong! I kind of felt myself pulled along a bit before we parted directions and I went back cross country. Also, not a great nights sleep due to watching a jumpy film with my son who then needed his mum at 1am, 3am... bad choice, that. So many excuses!
And another one: I think I might have had a bit of white coat syndrome; the fact I was looking at my heart rate and felt I was battling with it may not have put in the most meditative of mindspaces!
I think in my head I imagined that because I was going more slowly, it would somehow feel effortless. Which is a rookie error; there is always some level of effort involved. I suppose I just ran over 6k without stopping and without feeling I needed to; I don’t know why we find it difficult to recognise these positives sometimes!
When I checked the stats later, I saw that I averaged 7’02”. So yes, it was slower than my regular pace but not the slow slow pace that makes everything easy.
It was still a lovely run. Such a beautiful blue sky day with green shoots everywhere and the insects exploring each new flower.
I look forward to more lessons like this one 🙂
Running Slower For Endurance.
