What a lovely run this morning! After the last few miserable days it was great to see some sunshine.
A little chilly at sunrise, so I donned my long sleeved top and windproof jacket. Decided on shorts - and of course one of my new sun visors! It was the right choice.
This morning, I decided to dispense with the heart rate zones, as I wanted to try and speed up a bit, just to see if I could - and maybe get a PB this morning. My previous fastest 10K was about 1hr 28mins.
I set off at a conservative pace, 10K is a long way if I make a mistake in the first kilometre! So I followed my established route and all went according to plan. I ran the first couple of kms in the village, on a single track road by the river. As I run, I hear the sound of Whooper swans, so I look up to see a flock of about 20 of them, heading off for their breakfast! They are arriving in large numbers now, to overwinter on the Ouse Washes.
Heading out of the village and the sun is up. I’m not running too fast to enjoy the early morning, but I’m conscious that it’s faster than usual. I hope I’m going to be able to keep it up! I carry on eating up the kms and come out on the road heading back to the village. I have noticed that I’ve had a fairly good pace all the way round, but for the last 2 kms I was a bit tired! When I had to stop to cross the road, I was grateful 😬.
I got my PB 😊. Shaved off about 8 minutes, which is a huge improvement. I thought the splits would be a mess, but although I didn’t manage negative splits, they were tidy and heading in the right direction! So I was pleased as previously they have been all over the place.
Very happy with that run, and best of all, I really enjoyed it 😊
Written by
Jools2020
Graduate10
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Wow very well done to you! You clearly found the sweet spot for pacing yourself today. A PB and an escort of Whooper Swans, what more could anyone ask, a brilliant start to the day 🏃♀️ 😊
I really enjoyed your run from the description Jools. You must feel great about the PB without even trying 🏃♀️😁 relax and enjoy the beautiful weather for the rest of the day 😁
Thank you, Diane! I really achieved today. Wanted to check I could speed up if I wanted 😀 yes, it was magical with the Whoopers. I recognised their calls before I saw them! Having them here seems to brighten up the winter months as they often fly right over my house.
Thank you 🙏. I was pleased with the PB, but most of all, pleased that it was such a lovely run 😊. I’ve been hearing the swans all day - I think more are arriving!
I spent a few weeks trying to get 4K in 30 minutes, pushing myself so hard before realising that it just wasn’t working for me. I just couldn’t do it! So I decided to gradually increase the time spent running on my Saturday runs. Tuesdays I do speed work - either intervals or just a short, fast run, 2 or 3K. Thursdays I just go out and run for 30 minutes - around 4K.
My Saturday runs are usually slow. I really look forward to them. I gradually increased the time spent running until I ran my first 10K - it took 90 minutes! I then tried again for my 4K in 30 minutes and did it. I carried on increasing my time on the Saturday runs and 10 days ago managed to run for 10 miles (16.1K). My next target is a half marathon - but gradually! Hope this helps. I didn’t want to follow another plan, so I invented my own, which is working well for me. I can change it if I want 😀
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