Like so many of you I decided to do the Group 10k (60 minute) plan. Like quite a few of you I didn't finish it as January and February weren't the quiet mild months I'd anticipated. I got to Week 4 by mid February and there I stayed. Well, today I finally did the 50 minute run for the 60 minute Magic Plan
It was glorious when I woke up. In line with my new strategy of leaving it until mid morning to run I had my breakfast and did some work first then headed to the fields just before midday. The sun was shining and I was glad I was in my summer leggings, wishing I'd worn short sleeves. I was going to do an NRC guided run but last minute decided it'd just be me and the BBC Pacesetter playlist.
Started slow as always. I was wearing my 'holiday' running shoes which are much less fancy than the Brooks I normally wear. They were comfortable but not as cushioned and felt a bit odd. Told myself not to blame my footwear. If I was finding the run difficult it's because I'm a bit of a slob who eats too much lol.
The going was pretty good so I took a path which can get pretty boggy. The first part was great, flat and even, then this gave way to deep ruts from tractor tyres, then mud. Turned back at this point, 2km run, 20 minutes of running. Ran back the way I'd come, slowing every so often to allow my HR to drop a bit then off again. Another 2 km, another 20 minutes, another little walk, then back to my starting point. Stopped the NRC app....and it just started hanging.
Closed the app and rebooted my phone. When it started again it read out my numbers. I'd taken a screenshot before closing everything and this said I'd run 5.61 km in 50:04 minutes at an average pace of 8'55. The app now said 5.62km in 54:04 minutes at a pace of 9:37. Just as well I don't need the numbers to prove anything lol. The extra 3 minutes must be the time spent faffing about.
Looking forward to trying to get to 55 or 60 minutes in the next week, the final km today reminded me how good a longer run feels.