The entire point of this morning’s run was to enjoy it - to thrill in it, even. And I did enjoy and thrill; I loved every moment. I ran solo in the nearby park just as the sun rose - my first time here at such an early hour. It was quiet, but with enough people about to feel perfectly safe.
Having extended to 6k on Sunday on top of last Friday’s 5k, I wanted to pull back my distance to keep my progress steady. I could have continued, and would have loved to, but I didn’t want to invite injury. I reined in the temptation.
The light was glorious as I arrived and once the sun was up, dramatic with shadows long. There were glimpses of the city centre towers gleaming in the pinkish sun. Birds were very active: parakeets were invisible but squawking loudly overhead; gulls, crows and magpies were on the fields. The ground was hard enough to run on, so for the first time in a while I was off paths and pavements, running on the grass trails. I thought a lot about the semi-frozen earth and how it felt. Just a few patches remained too soft and needed to be skirted.
A man struck out purposefully across the grass with a simple fold-up pushchair in front; the wheels squeaked, adding to the birds’ chorus. Why he took this direction was not clear: it offered no obvious shortcuts; he didn’t appear to have a dog. In the distance, canine play got out of hand and I could see the gaggle of owners struggling to break up a fight as the growls and yelps drifted across the park. At the top of the rise, an elderly woman sat in her wheelchair, watching the sunrise; on my second circuit, she had turned to face in the opposite direction to avoid being blinded by the light; she could now observe the sun striking buildings and avenues of London planes. A young female runner and I exchanged smiles and greetings as we crossed paths along the stretch with the juvenile trees. An empty passenger train passed by as I ran the embankment trail.
My attention, however, was primarily on the pleasures of running, and just feeling happy and grateful for it. I also focused on my breathing and posture, reflecting on variations. Lifting of and from the hips and raising the sternum was my main thing today. I think I’m generally ok here, but even a few minor tweaks made a difference. I took in a short but steep incline towards the end. I’d refashioned my usual hat as a buff and used another fleece hat on my head. The buff kept me cosy without overheating, but using it over my mouth and nose just steamed my specs. Gloves and hat remained worn throughout, unusually, but I was absolutely fine with two light top layers and my tracksters.
I’ve noticed that my settled steady pace seems to be around 7:34 mins/km. Although I corrected it, I again took off too quickly at the outset. It really doesn’t feel that way. I think I need that transition from walk to run to be a more focused moment: a place to gather, centre, breathe and set off exactly the way I’d prefer. It’s all a bit chaotic at present, and can get the run off to a less-than-ideal start. It’s not awful (or not usually), but there’s definitely room for improvement there. (I can see a Garmin beckoning... just to evade all the phone-fiddling, fumbling, stashing and zipping at both the beginning and end of the run.)
May 2021 eventually bring us a much kinder year - the start is not looking promising. Still, I can thank 2020, terrible as it has been, for bringing me to running.
Written by
GailXrunning
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
What a lovely, uplifting post- that sounds a perfect ending to 2020- a nice, gentle run out in the fresh air just for the fun of it. I lost my sense of taste and smell yesterday- awaiting the test results so that will probably be me in until Jan 9th- so disappointing 🙁🙁 - can’t wait to get outside again. I’ll have to feast on all of the gazelle team posts about your runs outside in the meantime-Have a great New Years 🎉🙂
Oh, that doesn’t sound promising, does it... a key Covid symptom. ☹️ And you were just getting so close to your isolation release date. How frustrating! I can just imagine your gazelle muzzle chomping at the bit. I hope the virus gives you no more than a minor niggle. Look after yourself. Will do my very best to send you some vicarious running. 🏃🏼♀️🦌Thank you, too, for your kind words.😊
Came back positive today- another 10 days in isolation🙁🙁 -can’t see me knocking out a 10k for a bit- felt a bit tired walking up the stairs tonight! looking forward to reading all the team gazelle posts though 👍🏻🦌
Oh no 🤦♀️ just seen this! So sorry to hear, poor you.. And so close to your isolation release date. I really hope you’re not feeling too bad and you get a mild dose. Take it easy and you will be out running free again before long x
Great post from you! Lovely 4K to see out the year.
I always set off too quickly! I usually run for 30 seconds and check my pace on my watch. Yesterday I was aiming for just under 8:00 as I hadn’t run for a week and wanted a steady start, I checked my watch and it was 7:05; how could I get it so wrong!! I know from experience there’s no way I could match that even for just another km. Drastic slow down 😂. Need to learn how to start without that discrepancy.
Thanks, as ever. That’s another reason in favour of a watch. I’ve got the phone app set to report every 5 minutes, which is more often than I’d like, but does give me an early-ish check. Half a minute in would be much more useful. It’s odd just how ‘out’ my own estimates are; I’d have thought a whole minute per km different!
A watch is helpful, but it obviously takes a few seconds for pace to stabilise and you just glance at the watch. It also vibrates at the end of each km and gives you your average pace for that km, so if you are aiming for negative splits you know what to work towards. Love my watch! You can choose what info you want to see.
Most watches have a choice of what you see on the watch face as you run! I have 4 showing. Actual pace as I’m running, time spent running, distance covered and heart rate zones shown as a decimal. For example, if you’re running in heart rate zone 2 it shows as 2.4 or 2.7, wherever you are. I find this way of showing it very useful.
This works for me, but I tried a few different options before settling on this. I don’t need it to show average pace as it gives me that anyway at the end of each km.
What a beautiful post and a lovely photo. Running has indeed been the best thing for both mental and physical health this year in particular. Happy running 🤗
Thanks, Grannyhugs! 😊 It truly has. And, for those of us who started this year, it’s a direct positive flip of the pandemic. I’d thought about c25k on and off for a couple of years, but it has taken the shake up of 2020 to see me follow through. Just wish I’d started sooner!!
Brilliant, you’ve started now which is the main thing. I think we all wash we started sooner but somehow think the time you do start and get into the correct routine is the perfect time to have started.
You are spot on there. Mind you, what really slowed me up was my tech naivety. It was only when I played with Active 10 on my phone that I realised how easy c25k was. I went from one to the other in a matter of minutes. I’d imagined I would need some special kit.. like an old iPod... something I didn’t have 🤷🏼♀️🐣😂(There are a number of daft things like this on my journey!😂.. including thinking B210k was a programme.) But, I’m now on track! 😁
Sounds a nice, perfect run gail, and well done for getting up so early, since i've been of work, i've been lazy, and laying in most days! 🤣 todays news, might mean another week on furlough. You still amaze me, how much you take in, and remember, while you run, can never rush through your posts! ☺ is M still on IC?Anyway, let's hope things, slowly get back to normal next year, but at least we've got our running, to keep us going! 🏃♀️🏃♂️
Indeed! M thinks he’ll be ok for the next run. He took off the skin on his heel, so wearing shoes (even soft slippers) has been painful. (All this on top of the bruised/ cracked ribs from the previous episode🙄). I think he’s missing the running, and is looking forward to getting back to it.
Lovely post as always 🙂 I do enjoy ‘shadowing’ your runs . I look forward to getting back out for early morning runs such as this , most of my C25K was done over summer and at 6:30’ish.
I used to pass two dogs (+ their humans) and that was it 😂
Well, apart from the ‘hardy boys’ (and ladies on a Tuesday ) golfers .
Beautiful ,peaceful sunrises just the odd Oystercatcher as I made my way down my ‘long and winding road ‘ to the shore .
Your photo and post has reminded me how worth it getting up is to catch the first light , must try harder and not have the extra cup of coffee 😂☕️
Super that you are so enjoying your runs too 🙂
The key to enjoying runs ( for me anyway) is setting off slowly regardless of whether my pace seems ok at the time . It is never still ok 1/2 Kms further down the road 😂🥵 I’ve known this for months now but still fall into the trap 😂
Amazing the difference even a small amount of seconds /km makes .
I have a Garmin 45 which I love ( it’s the entry level with sufficient tech stuff for me to navigate , it has buttons not touchscreen as I’d be lethal with that . Was bad enough with the phone 😂) .
These days I try not to look at it too much , although I have it set to alert me to my pace , but the stats once I’ve finished and looked at them tell the story of my run and usually make sense of how I felt during the run as well as showing progress . So I try and balance use or overuse of stats .
Hope you continue into 2021 with many more happy runs 🥳🏃🏻♀️🎉
Fab post and photo!I’m not a morning person usually, but with dawn being so late at the moment, it’s relatively easy for me to get out and get going! The light is truly beautiful too.
Sounded like an enjoyable run too...no pressure, just out there enjoying the freedom 😊
Thanks - and Happy New Year to you too. 🎉I’m definitely benefiting from the later sunrise too. In a way, it’s made the winter period additionally inviting because an early run is possible.🏃🏼♀️🏃🏼♀️🏃🏼♀️
Thank you for your kind words 😊 - it was a really great little run. (Did I just type ‘little’?! I did! Unimaginable not so long ago!) New year running plans are in development too. Best wishes.✨🌟💫
😊 That’s so lovely of you to say. Thank you. 🙏☺️ And, yes, fitter too. Isn’t it something to be heading into a new year with that one (or at least the process) already ticked?!
I usually set off too quickly. I also, in spite of having a Garmin watch, am always starting off by stashing keys and phone in my belt pouches. (Parallel GPS recording with FitoTrack and kicking off the podcast player.)
So, that’s minimal shoes, maximal tech?!! 😉It’s fascinating how we all go about this. It seems such a minor element, but it’s a detail that id like to resolve - as best I can. Your experience is a useful reminder that ‘having’ the watch, per se, is not going to be a solution.
Perhaps I’m also being a bit pointlessly anxious about not losing my warmup warmth/preparation and trying to transition too quickly. I could just pause for a minute or two: set up, stash, and then centre myself and breathe before tipping into the run.
Lovely post and fab photo, too of your early morning run 😊 I think a lot of us go off too quickly at the start of the run and I completely know what you mean with the muddle of phone being stashed away, apps started, headphones in etc!! All I know is i soon settle down but I do find my Garmin helpful in this respect to check it on the first Km for pace etc then I leave it alone until the end of the run to check my stats. Now I’m also running Strava on my phone for runs I need to work out how to link the two. I’m wondering if it might be time soon for a “naked” run, ie no tech and a lot more mindfulness 🤔 Happy new year 🥳 xx
Oooo... that would be an adventure! Give a whirl! Articles I’ve read suggest it can take a while to acclimatise and experiment. I realised early on that this is my favourite approach by far, so just embraced it. And it fitted well with what I do in yoga. Still, I’m seeing it as a key thing to improve. I’ve enjoyed using the occasional coaching podcast, but even these have all been in the ‘mindful’ genre so far. Getting the balance with wanting to run naked and still track the runs has to be a necessary compromise, I guess. Just need to find the best way to minimise the ‘interruption’ of the tech. I’ll find a way. (A new year project.) Your approach to the watch is what I’d want: primarily an early double check on pace. And then a subtle buzz to alert me to my end of duration.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Sunday 4k, swim, walk, lunch
A muddy 8k canal towpath run
WK5 10k. 4K done!
