By the time I got out of the door this morning it already felt very warm. I'd woken at 6, enjoyed a cool breeze blowing through the bedroom window and drifted back to sleep. Again.
Garmin tells me I set off at 8.21 and the temperature was 21C. The sun was shining and I was tempted to just say 'too hot' and turn back. Nope, if I've gone to the effort of putting on my running gear I might as well carry on.
Coach Bennett likes to say that every run has a purpose. I decided that today's purpose was to actively embrace slow running and keeping my heartrate down. When all the instincts are saying 'faster, faster' it takes some mental discipline not to slip in a quick interval.
While I ran I pondered on the expression 'best pace'. Slow was definitely my best pace today but the rest of the running world seems to think that best=fastest. 'Best' depends on you, on the conditions, on so many other things than speed.
When I checked my stats at home I hadn't wandered into Zone 5, the maximum zone, at all. If I was trying to push myself this run would be a total failure but, by the parameters I'd chosen, it was a total success
Keep cool, keep safe and keep on enjoying those runs!