On the road again

So after a break of 11 days since London it was time to stop being a lazy sod and get back at this running lark.

To be fair, I haven’t had much chance to run lately anyway. I was home for a short time after the marathon for a busy couple of days at work before going off on a short break to visit Dawn and do touristy things around deepest, darkest Wiltshire and South Gloucester. And, yes, I can confirm penguins were involved! A bit of hiking was thrown in for good measure, too, so at least I wasn’t totally idle.

Since returning I’ve barely been able to lift my head such has been my workload. But it’s important to make time for yourself, and that’s what tonight’s run was.

Just before setting off I decided just to plump for my normal go-to-distance of 5km. It’s enough to work up a sweat and test out the legs but not too long as to turn into some form of unnecessary punishment.

It was a warm evening – and I don’t do heat – so it was going to be an interesting experiment. I also didn’t wear my tights, something I rarely do. I wore them for almost every single training run for the marathon and was very wary of changing that routine for fear of picking up an injury … however, the pressure is off now and so it’s time to start testing things out. Plus it would have been silly given the temperature. I also donned my London finishers t-shirt. Well, why not …?

Anyhoo, what of the run itself? It started off quite laboured. My legs felt heavy, my breathing felt strained but after a few minutes I was able to regulate it and my legs began to loosen too.

I began to quite enjoy it. It felt very pleasant running with the sun bearing down on me and even though I was sweating like a boar pig it didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Pace wise, I tested myself but I never really struggled. I maintained a decent tempo throughout and was actually quicker over the second part of the run. Not a big deal, admittedly, given it was only 5k but it was good to know that I was able to push on and, perhaps, I have a little regret that I didn’t carry on for longer … but that’s for another day, tonight was just all about getting back out there. I did and it felt good.

Next up event wise is the Westminster Mile/London 10000 double header at the end of the month, following by my local 5-mile race a week or so later – an event I have unfinished business with!