Back to nature and crunching numbers

[Yesletsgo]

I'm home for a few days so today it was fantastic to be able to run through farmland rather than on concrete. Last night I suggested that we get up early and finally run that darned 10k, but husband had a work email that needed urgent attention so we didn't get out until 9.45, far too late for a hard run before breakfast.

The crops are growing and look like they may be ready for harvest and the paths are still relatively clear. It was cloudy and overcast so not too unbearably hot, ideal conditions, though by the end I was definitely in the Tomato Club. My husband was setting the pace, easy for him, tougher for me.

My last run (on Monday) was an interval run, so from curiosity I compared my so called 5k pace with the actual 5k paces today and on Saturday when I did Parkrun. My Parkrun pace and today's were within 3 seconds of each other but when I did my interval run the 5k section was a glorious 53 seconds per km quicker By perceived effort it was probably also the easiest as I knew I only had to keep it up for a few minutes plus I was still feeling fresh near the start of the run

We'd forgotten how much we enjoy being out in our local, open, empty Essex fields so to celebrate decided to shout about it. You can't yell 'To vicinity and beyond!!' at the top of your lungs in civilisation, can you?

Photo is of a rather pretty plumbago next to my rosemary, the view while I did my cool down stretches. I love summer.

[Beatlesforever Graduate10]

That is a very pretty plumbago indeed 😍 I'm also a lot faster when I run intervals compared to the actual distances. I'm hoping that I will one day be able to run 5k at my 'interval run 5k pace' 😂 it sounds like you're more than ready for your 10k. Good luck with it! 💪👏👏👏😃

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to Beatlesforever]

Perceived effort is a very fluid concept. The effort varies according to whereabouts in the run I'm at, oh for that golden section between the end of the Toxic 10 and the onset of tiredness.

I'm mentally ready for the 10k but I need a day when it's not too warm so it may have to wait a while

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10]

That sounds like a great run. Beautiful flowers too. It’s wonderful running out in the countryside.

I’m finding the whole pace/effort thing mystifying. I did a lovely 40 min recovery run yesterday (with coach b of course!) at the same pace as Saturday’s park run. No effort at all. Very strange! It really varies from day to day. I’ve definitely learned to become less obsessed with the numbers on my watch!!

[Yesletsgo Ambassador Graduate10 in reply to MissUnderstanding]

Don't get me started on watch numbers. I've had my Garmin about a year and only discovered today that Garmin Connect gives a breakdown of everything - pace, bpm, cadence plus lots more - today. I'd never looked at the splits on a landscape screen before, what an eye opener.I'm trying to work out whether the state of my Body Battery affects my effort but never remember to look at it before I run. Probably just as well