Much cooler today, so I was able to stay in the zones for almost the whole run. It was supposed to be 20c but there was a stiff breeze that made it feel much cooler. It was also cloudy most of the run so, to my disappointment, there was no point wearing my beautiful new Lonely Goat hat: see photo (those of you on the Lonely Goat Running Club Facebook group will already have seen me shamelessly flaunting myself in it, so look away now! 😂)
It’s hard work and tediously slow running in zones 1&2. The top backs of the calves feel it, and the legs are generally heavy. After a while, though, you feel as if you are floating along. I decided to actually stop each time my beats got too high. This turned out to be much better than just trying to slow down or walk, and it took only a few seconds each time before I could resume running. I only had to stop four times in all ... I think ...
The sky was a luminous mix of grey and white, mackerel spattering giving way here and there to blue. A birch on the banks of the river Ock was spotlit by a brief shaft of sun, firing to searing golden green. A tranquil morning, washed to unexpected freshness by last night’s rain after yesterday’s scorching temperatures.
So nice doing this training, and such a privilege to be fit and well and running at an age when many of my contemporaries are using some form of walking aid, or are crippled with arthritis or obese. I am blessed.
