Beachcomber66 told me they warm up their knees for a run with a hot water bottle. I find myself touched by this - what a nice knee parent they are. I could almost hear my own knees saying “me, me!”
It looked pretty cold out there today. I got ready to run a bit slowly, put the kettle on, made up the hot water bottle and sat back in the armchair with it on my knees… it was so pleasant I was in danger of nodding off.
I decided to start and finish the Garmin when the jog started and ended, to get a better gauge of the averages (pace, cadence, stride length, heart rate, etc). I have been geeking out a bit over barefoot running vs cushioning, thinking about how best to minimise impact. I wear barefoot shoes pretty much all the time, whether for everyday or going up and down mountains. I’m convinced that they have helped with the rehabilitation of my knee. It felt unstable for a long time, and I felt unbalanced, but being able to feel the terrain underfoot and make micro-adjustments really seemed to help. What I’m not yet convinced about is whether abandoning the cushioning provided by my (admittedly old) Asics is a good idea. I’m running on hard surfaces and there’s no knee cushioning, so it doesn’t seem sensible to abandon cushioning elsewhere. Plus - touchwood - the knees seem to be holding up at the moment, so…
The wind had a real bite to it. I spent the first few minutes consciously trying to relax my upper body which was rigid with cold. 10 minutes in, the internal heater kicked in and I started shedding layers.
The thoughts didn’t race today. I kept it slow, and focused on my breathing, a breath in for 4 strides, then out… I tried to land soft, ninja-style. I was able to have brief conversations with a few people I saw. It didn’t feel hard… at all.
Looking at the stats, my average HR was 146. This is 10 lower than my usual average HR - which usually includes the 10 minutes of walking, so the average for just the running part is at least another -10… and my average pace was… very respectable!
Perhaps as compensation for the zen-like non-thinking run, my mind just went down a rabbit hole and I wondered about animal heart rates (see pic). A cat beats in the 120-140 range; a skunk is nearer 170. So I reckon I was more cat than skunk today.
In fact, I had a knock at my door this evening and a significantly younger man who I had spoken to running past asked if I’d like to go the pub as I ‘seemed cool’. I don’t think that would have happened in skunk category.
P.S. My favourite entry on the animal bpm chart was an anaesthetised Rhesus monkey - in the range of 160-330!
Happy running peeps…
Week 9 Run 2 And breathing apparatus 
Graduated C25K today! -- slow, so what to do next?
Week 2 Run 3 done...agony!
Mid life crisis? Who cares, I've Graduated ;-)
