The last month has really sucked for running, as I’ve mentioned before.
I’ve only been out about once a week during this stretch instead of my more typical three times and this week when I was planning on getting back into a regular routine I got hit by a throat infection. I’m tentatively planning on resuming runs on Thursday, which will mark ten days since the last run. That’s enough to lose a decent bit of conditioning, although perhaps the rest will help offset some of that.
The current forecast for Thursday is for a high of 27ºC (unseasonably warm) and humid, the two things that go great together for a yucko run. But it would only be 5K so maybe it won’t be so bad. I’m hoping that writing this out will make this assessment seem more convincing. You know, I read it on the Internet, it must be true and all that.
Distance: 10.02 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: light breeze
Calories burned: 701
Average pace: 5:20/km
Total distance to date: 867 km
The unexpected part of this run is how it turned out much better than I had hoped.
I decided to wait an extra day after Wednesday’s run because my right shin, though not hurting at all to walk, was a bit sensitive when pressure was applied in the right (or wrong, according to my shin) spot. I have been erring on the side of caution this year to prevent injury so instead of running on Friday I ran today.
Because I had plans in the evening, I broke my usual rule and ran in the mid-afternoon sun. It was 20ºC so not hot but when the breeze died down it still felt plenty warm. I knew after the first two km that I had started out too fast and was concerned that I would lag in the middle part of the run and have a slower overall time as a result. I had also made the mistake of not eating lunch beforehand (I was thinking of having it after the run), which meant I was running with minimal fuel. This, combined with the warmth, made the run feel much harder. By the time I got to the last km I really wanted it to be over.
My hunch on the start was correct — I posted a brisk 4:58/km on the first km and then did the exact same on the second. I then dropped five seconds from 2K to 3K and another four going from 3K to 4K, so I did indeed start flagging in the middle. However, I managed to find a steadier rhythm after that and ended with an overall pace of 5:20/km, a quite good result (third fastest 10K, only 3 seconds off my best run) and a full 11 seconds better than my last effort.
A group of people doing some kind of weird orienteering/weigh-in/whatever thing were annoyingly clustering on one part of the trail a number of times through the run but other than that there were no other unusual events to report.
Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise):
