A gorgeous, sunny morning, perfect for a run. A quick check of the weather app showed that it was 3-4 degrees with a slight breeze, so shorts and tee shirt should do nicely!
I listened to a podcast this morning from the “You’re dead to me” series of history podcasts on BBC Sounds. I didn’t like it much; maybe I’ll try another. This one was about the Babylonians. I think I need a more in depth history podcast than this series.
I set off on my warm up walk and start to run. I want to run for 10K this morning, but my heart rate zooms up into Zone, 4 - I’ve no idea why. This did mean that my effort was high, even if I slowed down. Maybe it was the air quality, which was ‘fair’ on this run, but I was conscious of working quite hard.
But I refuse to be thwarted from my 10K goal! 😊 There’s no-one about at the start of my run and the air is fresh and cool on my skin. I decide on my established 5K route and I’d do it again with a slight variation.
I do seem to struggle on this route with the second kilometre, but I ignore it and plod on! This route is all round the houses. For the 4th km I’m running alongside the common and start to see people. I notice a cyclist and realise I’ve seen him before. He must be cycling round the houses! The third time I see him we acknowledge each other. The fourth time I laugh and so does he.
The fifth km is mostly downhill towards ‘home’, but I don’t run quite that far, turning left to do part of the route again. I’ll save running past my Dad’s house until the end of the run!
5K done and I move into Part 2! Although my pace is quite slow, I’m struggling a bit because my heart rate is up. It does come down a little in the second half of the run. Maybe I shouldn’t have had second helpings of that takeaway curry last night! And - unusually for me, I had some red wine with it. Literally 2 mouthfuls! (I don’t usually drink). The podcast finishes and I decide to listen to Santana for the rest of the run! 🎶 🎵 😊 I’m too busy thinking about the music now to be concerned about my heart rate!
I plod on, repeating part of the same course. I start the last km at the top of the road. It’s uphill for 2-300 metres then downhill all the way! I fly downhill and round the corner, cross the road and turn left. I mistime it slightly and have to turn round at the end of the street. 10K done and a PB for that last km of 6:19. I think that’s a second faster than before, but a PB is a PB so I’ll take that thank you very much! This is my first 10K run for almost 2 months and I feel really pleased! 😊 ‘Home’ to stretches and coffee! ☕️ 😊