I really wasn't in the right frame of mind today, after a stressful morning at work. For some reason the beans on toast I had for breakfast hadn't really settled properly so I wasn't feeling 100% either. But I went out anyway - same day, same time, same route, same interval workout for purposes of consistency.
The road past the Rugby Club was even more muddy than last week. In fact I've never seen so much mud around here in 26 years. It will be a while before I contemplate running in the woods again - we need a few dry days first.
I notice that somebody has dug out a small channel in the road to try and direct some of the water into the ditch by the side of the road. It doesn't look like it is working though and I almost have an embarassing accident picking my way past the largest flooded section as my feet slip from under me and I manage to grab hold of a tree trunk to save myself, and my pride! My road shoes are now covered in sticky mud. Thankfully there's no-one else around to notice - they all have more sense than I do!
I slip again on the mud on my recovery interval before my 1k sprint. Maybe it's not such a good idea to try and run flat out here today😒
Anyway, I've come this far so nothing else to be done than go for it!
I set off, trying to dodge the worst patches of mud. Damn - this is going to be slow!
The mud lessens as I get further away from the Rugby Club and I try to speed up a bit. This feels tough🥵 - I'm not sure I can sustain this pace so I back off a little. This is definitely going to be a slow one.
I step it up a little as the end of the road and the 1k marker approach - I don't want it to be too much slower than last time.
My watch signals the end of the 1k interval, but instead of turning round and navigating the mud again I decide to continue to the main road and loop back past the Leisure Centre and onwards to reach home.
In the end, its a 5.3k run overall today for which Strava gives me my second fastest 1/2 mile and mile, and my 3rd fastest 2 miles.
But the 1k was only my third fastest - at 5.56. That's 5 seconds slower than last week and 6 seconds slower than week 2 of the Challenge.
I'm almost tempted to try again later this week - just to see....
My goodness, I seem to have found a competitive streak that I never knew I had here.
This Challenge has been fun and I'm glad I signed up for it.
And can I claim another Festive Art tick on my Bingo Card? Does anyone else see a Polar Bear? Or am I pushing my luck too much 🤣
Laura’s speed podcast
Getting slower!!
