Up with the lark this morning to try and beat the rain! As I left, I checked the forecast and found it was due to rain in 20 minutes. Well, I don’t mind if it starts when I’m already warmed up and running, so off I go.
I had an internal debate about this slow run. Last weekend, I did 90 minutes and the previous 2 weekends, I did 75 minutes. I don’t want to push further every weekend, so decided to drop back to 60 minutes for this run and to keep it in Zone 3.
Off I go, listening to Santana and singing along so I know I’m in the right zone! First km in Zone 2 as I warm up. I’ve been having problems keeping my heart rate down, largely due to anxiety. I have the zones on my watch set to numbers, so if I see 3.9, I know I have got to pull back! The end of the second km is a short but quite steep incline and I’m at 3.8 so I decrease stride length and pace. It works and I’m surprised - back at 3.5 and I continue.
For the rest of the run, I repeat this and it works every time. I wonder why. I’ve tried this so many times before and have often had to walk to bring my heart rate down; today I didn’t have to! Today I had perfect control.
I’m enjoying this run. I’m not putting in that much effort and I have the chance to look around as I keep going. I see a number of runners, a few of them are familiar. Quite a few walkers are about, too. I nose into peoples gardens. I run on the road where I can, but there is traffic about so I have to take care.
I approach the T-junction and don’t hesitate in turning right for the longer route! Then it’s a gentle incline and my heart rate starts to climb. I slow down a little to keep everything under control. I run downhill for a while and speed up a tad, then I’m doubling up as I run part of the route for a second time, plodding on and still enjoying the run. I get to the T-junction for the second time and this time head for home. The promised rain hasn’t happened! The long downward slope at the end of my runs is much shorter on this route. I calculate that I’ll get to 60 minutes running slightly before I get to 7K, so decide to run on for a minute or so to round it off nicely. I’ve got plenty left in the tank for a fast finish, but decide to keep in Zone 3 even at the end. The last .5K is downhill and I increase pace a little, but stay in Zone 3. Well! I don’t think I’ve ever done that before! What a controlled run 😊.
I walk to the steps, sit down and take a pic. Not even out of breath and not a drop of sweat in sight! I sync my watch and phone to check the stats. Average heart rate 133! Very satisfied with the run, I head home for coffee ☕️
Happy weekend running! 😊👍🏃♀️
Written by
Jools2020
Graduate10
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Haha, yes - thanks. I was showing that I wasn’t out of breath or sweaty, but I do confess that I chopped the top of my head off, because I looked like Punk Jools this morning 😂
That was a very good run for you Jools2020, not too slow, just as they say, slow and steady, well done, if that had been a 5K parkrun you would have been far from last.
This morning I walked around my home parkrun course, I met a lady who was running slower than I was walking, she told me that she was second last at her last official Parkrun which I had ran back in March of last year, I asked her if she would be running next week as the parkrun resumes, she told me she "might" good luck to her.
Thank you, AlMorr. I worked out that taking the first 5 kilometres I would have finished 12th from last if I’d run in my local park run today! It’s the Wycombe Rye Park Run. Of course, in a Park Run I would not be running in Zone 3, so I like to think I would be finishing a little faster. Maybe even less than 40 minutes on a good day. I’m thinking of doing it sometime soon, but it’s a bit daunting because I don’t know anyone who goes there. I keep watching the Facebook page, I just wish I could find someone to go with. Good luck to the lady you met, I hope she takes part when your local park run starts.
So do I, usually! I think it’s to do with getting fitter and persevering. I think the first time I tried it a couple of months ago, I went straight into zone 5 and gave up!
Fab run Jools, it seems so simple now…run slower=slower HR🙄
I quite like a 60 minute run…on the canal 30 minutes takes me to the viaduct over the river, so easy to know when to turn back. I average around 7km too.
I only reached 6km on my 60 minute ‘graduation’ run…but it was a mare of a lockdown course with steep inclines 😬
It should be that simple, but I’ve found it really hard to reduce my heart rate. Sometimes I’ve had to walk - or even stop. Not this time, though. Perhaps I’m not so anxious or perhaps I persevered with running slower and allowed more time. Who knows 🤷🏻♀️, but today it worked! Very happy.
Oh Santana takes me back 😄Really interesting post and lots to think about in terms of the zone 3 running , I’ve only ever managed 70% and that was my 4K the other day.
I hadn’t run for 3 weeks so was easing into things, I felt I didn’t enjoy my run but was pleased I’d controlled my heart rate for so long 🤷🏼♀️
Also might give the Jeffing a bit of research , still working on stamina 🙄
Your posts are always ‘food for thought’ , thank you 🙂
This all started with me trying to regain my former fitness. Trying a few things to see what works.. To start with, I had to discount what didn’t work and that was running once or twice a week, 4K or 5K, pushing myself when my fitness clearly wasn’t there. I wanted to do longer runs, but clearly my fitness and stamina had suffered and I would be risking injury. So I’m just trying a few things to get myself out there 3 times a week and mixing up my runs! Seems to be working so far. My eventual aim is to get to HM again. No rush. Zone 3 runs build stamina with less injury risk and Jeffing is less taxing, too!
Sounds like you've got things running wise, pretty sorted, hope you can find someone to do your park run with, i know around here there are alot of ladies running groups. I'm of work at the moment, so trying to get some more runs in, keep the fitness going!!! 🤣
Yes, I’m really enjoying running at the moment, back up to 3 times a week again. I’ll just have to bite the bullet with the Park Run and go on my own. Stay at the back with the stragglers 😊. Enjoy the extra runs during your time off!
I have a Garmin Vivoactive 3. It shows heart rate in a few ways other than your actual heart rate. I configure my watch face to show it numerically, e.g 3.5 tells me I’m in the middle of heart rate Zone 3, or you can set it to show a percentage of your maximum heart rate. Also, I can set up a second watch face that I access by swiping, to show the zones in different colours on a dial. I think most sports watches will let you set up something so you can see the zones as you’re running.
Awesome performance!! The weather is really unpredictable at the moment. I keep planning my runs, finding no-rain windows on the forecast; by the time the morning comes around its absolutely bucketting irrespective of the previous night’s optimism.
Snap! 😂🤣 It happened exactly like that during my c25k, so probably last September…. which means my hopscotching through Met Office forecasts has been working very well for most of the past year.
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week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
