Time: 8:50am. Weather: 11°C, Cool, Sunny, Dry
Slower and much easier.
The aim this morning was to "soft pedal" things. I'd overdone it on the graduation run and also hurt something in my left shin. I'd taken two rest days, but was restless to go out again.
It was a little later than I'd usually go out. It's a bank holiday and I'd treated myself to a lie in.
The aim was to keep the speed low and the heart rate in zone 3. I achieved the first but not the second. HR peaked at 157bpm rather than my more normal peak of 180bpm.
The warm up walk was again up the steep hill towards the post office. I ran a much shorter route today. Rather than go down the straight I immediately took the path beside the high school. Then continue on down the hill, past the college's sports hall, spotting some horses in a field to the right of me.
The pace was easy, almost plodding. It felt a bit like speed walking.
The dog walkers were out in force this morning, and it was easy to chat with them as I passed.
Into the woods for the first time. The kissing gate latch was a faff. The path was packed mud and gravel. This is a new feeling. Thankfully the ground was firm enough and not slippery. A rottweiler was mooching round in the undergrowth. I said hello to the dog but it wasn't interested in me.
The bridge across the brook and a climb out of the valley. More dog walkers. A child being carried on its father's shoulders. And then a wag said something to me like "That's a lot of fuss just to go for a bacon butty."
Across the main road and into another green area, down into a continuation of the same valley. Near the end I was out-stared by a Siamese cat, defying me to run onto the bridge it was standing on (the path went another way).
And then out of the woods and done.
The cool down walk was a steep uphill.
At points my left shin was twingeing, and I adjusted my landing so it didn't hurt. I might have gone out a day earlier than I should have, but by doing a lower intensity run today I don't think I've made anything worse. A couple of hours after the run, it's feeling OK again. I might take two rest days again before my next run.
I returned home and did the stretches.
At no point in this run did I feel in any way out of breath. In fact, I was hardly breathing any heavier than I would have been if I'd brisk walked that distance. I wasn't sweaty either. The curious bit is that the bulk of the run was in HR zone 4 according to my watch (avg 146bpm), and it felt much easier than its description of that zone (fast, almost uncomfortable pace with forceful breathing). It felt more like the description of zone 2!
Anyway, this was a bit of a revelation. If I hadn't run out of distance, I'm pretty sure I could have kept up that pace for a good while longer.
Stats:
Distance: 3.17km (running), 4.44km (total)
Duration: 27 mins (running), 42 mins (total)
Pace (running): 8'28"/km. Splits (by km): 8'08", 8'05", 9'01", 9'31"/km
Top speed: 9.1km/h, 6'35"/km (pretty meaningless)
~~~
I was again listening to RTÉ Lyric FM this morning. Not much music but more chat. There was an interview with Van Morrison this morning. He's 75 today.
Consolidation Run 1
Consolidation 6
