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):
| km | Jul 9 | Jul 6 | Jul 4 | Jul 1 | Jun 28 | Jun 26 | Jun 23 | Jun 21 | Jun 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:58 | 5:08 | 4:58 | 5:04 | 4:58 | 4:59 | 4:59 | 5:00 | 4:53 |
| 2 km | 4:58 | 5:11 | 5:02 | 5:06 | 5:03 | 5:05 | 5:05 | 5:04 | 5:01 |
| 3 km | 5:03 | 5:14 | 5:08 | 5:07 | 5:05 | 5:10 | 5:09 | 5:07 | 5:04 |
| 4 km | 5:07 | 5:17 | 5:12 | 5:09 | 5:08 | 5:13 | 5:12 | 5:11 | 5:09 |
| 5 km | 5:10 | 5:20 | 5:14 | 5:11 | 5:11 | 5:15 | 5:15 | 5:14 | 5:13 |
| 6 km | 5:12 | 5:22 | 5:15 | 5:12 | 5:13 | 5:19 | — | 5:15 | 5:15 |
| 7 km | 5:15 | 5:25 | 5:17 | 5:14 | 5:15 | 5:21 | — | 5:17 | 5:18 |
| 8 km | 5:17 | 5:27 | 5:19 | 5:16 | 5:16 | 5:23 | — | 5:19 | 5:21 |
| 9 km | 5:19 | 5:30 | 5:21 | 5:17 | 5:18 | 5:25 | — | 5:20 | 5:23 |
| 10 km | 5:20 | 5:31 | 5:21 | 5:17 | 5:19 | 5:27 | — | 5:21 | 5:24 |
| 11 km | — | — | — | 5:19 |