After yesterdays cheeky 3K, having taken a week out to get over some niggly leg pains, I awoke this morning thinking - "I know I should have a days rest, but...I'm gonna go for a run!"
The weather was dull and grey, certainly not like yesterdays sunny offering but despite that, I strapped on everything I needed to complete my Super Dan costume (God, that sounds sooooo dodgy doesn't it? But you guys know what I mean right?.....Right?!) and headed downstairs to get some fuel. Mrs Dan had bought a new juicer, having destroyed the previous one, so I made a beetroot, apple, carrot and ginger sludgy glass of jollop. Swallowed said concoction (deeelish by the way) and headed oot the door.
Today I was going to do 5K. I felt ready for it and headed off towards the river Thames path. Hardly any people were around and the usual bunch of dudes who stand by the Thames with their fishing rods, were absent today. I must say I wouldn't want to eat the fish out of the Thames at Richmond Lock. Yucksville Arizona! Anyway, enough of my digression - I made a right turn at around the first K and headed up towards the main road. I was feeling pretty good - legs were feeling ok, breathing good and I was going along at a nice regular pace. I kept telling myself "Slow down Dan. Make this energy last the distance, you twonk!" I slowed down but after about 6 seconds I was back to my usual speed. Perhaps we all have our "natural" speed cos I find it hard to go reeeeally slow. Some folks on her have said my "slow" speed is their "fast" speed so I guess we are ALL different.
K2 was fine. K3 took me across the park which last week was like a lake! Completely flooded. But today I could see the path stretching all the way back to the Thames path and this was my destination. I was definitely not aware of being fast, in fact I would say I felt I was "feeling" this run at this point - definitely getting a bit huffy and puffy. Despite this I pressed on and reached the river once again and turned left towards Richmond Bridge. This was K4 people, normally a pretty good one for me cos I was all warmed up and fluid in my movements. Four alarmingly attractive ladies were out on their power walk, all dressed head to toe in lycra and for a split second I hoped they might wolf whistle at me in my clingy running leggings as I ran past them. Damn and blast they didn't!!!! They kept on talking in loud voices and all I heard was - "Oh yah, but you're really good at skiing. We go out on the slopes around 11 and then have a long lunch until 2 and then......" These ladies were VERY Richmond-Upon-Thames ladies (ie. rich as ****!)
I reached Richmond Bridge, having got over the disappointment of the lack of wolf whistling from the rich beeatches and today I decided to RUN up the steps. GOD! OH MY GOD!! IT nearly killed me. What the hell was I thinking? Running up loads of steps? NUTTER DAN!! Once I reached the summit, I spluttered into a run once again and nearly collided with a tall bloke who was also on his morning run. Whooooahh!!! "Sorry!" I wheezed.
Right....the final K. Numeró 5. It was during this final kilometre that I started thinking about my PB for this distance. It was back last July and I clocked a 27'28 which I could not believe cos I haven't got anywhere close to that since. AND I was over a stone heavier back then too. Today I was 16lbs lighter, yet the dream of beating that time is still way off. "Don't think about it Dan" I scolded myself. "Forget PB's. Just run in the great outdoors, breathe the air, keep fit and burn some calories."
God, I do speak some sense to myself sometimes!
I reached my "STOP" mark (a lamppost) and walked briskly home. I sneaked my phone out of my pocket and noticed I'd run 5.6K. I didn't notice the timings cos it doesn't list them until you've pressed STOP on the app. IN the front door and the gorgeous smell of homemade vegetable soup cooking on the stove in the kitchen greeted my nostrils. "I'm baaaack!" I yelled. "How did it go then?" said Mrs Dan. "It was good thanks." I replied as I was looking at my stats. Then suddenly, my jaw dropped.
"Blimey!" I yelped - "What?" said Mrs Dan. I stared at my phone and said "I can't believe this. This must be wrong?" Somehow, I had just run 5K in 26'36, almost a minute faster than last July! One of the K's was in 4'01 for gawds sake?? WTF?!!!
I still can't quite believe this and think that perhaps the GPS didn't register my progress properly, but I didn't go on any unusual route. I had run this one LOADS of times and Endomondo had never let me down, so maybe it IS real?! So what joy when I looked online at my Endomondo page and saw a list of little GOLD CUPS beside each distance - 1K, 1 mile, 3K and 5K denoting a PB for each one.
Time for a personal conga I think! Yeeeehaaaaaaa!
Tally ho folks!
you should write a running blog. 
Well that was a surprise!
W8R1 - A pleasant surprise
W8R1 - surprised myself!
Surprising myself... but app problems
Graduation day surprise 
