My training plan for yesterday called for a non-stop run of 45 minutes. Due to circumstances beyond my control (Other Half spending most of the afternoon in A&E to discover he's broken his toe) I wasn't able to run until after dinner. This is not my favourite time to run as I have to wait until at least 8.30pm for food to go down and really, by that time, I cannot be arsed. Still, needs must and all that, especially as I had already had two rest days. It was with a heavy heart that I set out of the door.
The plan was to set out relatively slowly and keep on going for as long as possible. I didn't set the timer on my watch as I feel this just adds to the pressure and, as I've mentioned before, I just end up focusing on the time counting down rather than concentrating on rhythm and breathing. I'd mapped out a route in my head with optional extra add-on bits so that I could extend the run if I felt good.
I felt good! The pace was slow but steady and I just kept on going - there is something actually quite relaxing about running at that time of night as the roads are really quiet. I put my iPod on again, it's only the second time I've run with it and I'm quite surprised that I actually quite enjoy running to music; I guess it helps me to zone out.
I added the couple of extra loops that I had planned but eventually ran out of route and therefore this is my stats for the day:
Distance = 5.2 miles
Time = 55:13
Average Heart Rate = 158 bpm
My longest run to date both in terms of distance and time so very pleased. I'm a bit disappointed that I was just short of the hour but the only reason I stopped is that I ran out of route - I was still going strong so I reckon I could've done another mile easily enough. It looks as though I average around 10 minute miles on my longer runs which, whilst this is not going to set the world on fire, it's not that terrible for a beginner and it should improve with time.
No comments:
Post a Comment