Having posted on Sunday about a particularly π© 5km run, this one was fantastic!
I really struggled on Sunday on the 5km, round one of my favourite parks where I'd done some of the C25K runs. But I ended up with my worst ever 5k time - about 5 minutes slower than the best 5k. Also I very nearly gave up after 1 km, and was contemplating calling it a day at 2 km. Made it to 5 but it was a struggle.
I had a bit of a hip niggle during it and thought I'd give it a rest for a week. But by yesterday the hip was feeling a lot better, and I resolved to do the 8 km run tonight when everyone else was out, so nothing better to do.
This time I seemed to fly round (relatively speaking - I'm still very slow!) and just about every km of the 8 was quicker than just about every km of the 5 on Sunday.
This may partly be because running on pavements is much more energy efficient than on grass or paths through the park?
But I was also over 5 minutes quicker than the 8 km last week, which wasn't a π© run - quite enjoyed it really, but I decided to take it really steady to make sure I didn't flake out before the end! And ... I did it this week in under an hour! Not fast by most standards but a good hurdle for me as last week was 64 and something. I believe this is what they call a "negative split" as I ran the first 4 km in 30:04 and the total in 59:20.
This time I wasn't consciously trying harder, it's just that the km splits came out faster of their own accord, and I was loving every minute of it. I always feel quite emotional starting the second half as I go back into the historic town of Abingdon, where I have lived for nearly 40 years, since graduation, and see it all appearing before me in slow motion (compared to car or bicycle). I find myself saying "I love this town!"
The best musical moment was in the final km, when, in my Spotify running playlist, came "Zombie" by The Cranberries. It is such a powerful song with a strong anti-violence message. The anger and outrage in the song made me want to kick the ground from under me, and so the final km was the fastest. I can definitely recommend that song for running to!!
Grannyhugs - you will be interested to know my Heart Rate statistics. For most of the run it was like 148-155. In the final Zombie-powered km it reached a maximum of 168. Also reached 164 going up a slight hill (which I always feel on the bike), but I was determined not to drop the pace.
The photo (from 2009) is the historic archway under which I ran tonight as part of the route. In the distance you can see the county hall museum, famous for the fact that buns are thrown from the top of it by county councillors on royal occasions. It is a tradition going back 400 years.
I absolutely loved this. And for some reason I love running after dark. And I love being on this forum!