If I thought that by doing tonight’s 30-minute group at club I would be in for an easy time after running 13.1 miles yesterday then I was going to be sorely mistaken!
It was because I had run for so long on Sunday that I favoured the 30s. Well, that coupled with the fact I’m doing another half this weekend. Plus, tonight, I ran to club and knew I would run home again bringing my total time on feet to 53 minutes. Plenty, I thought.
I did toy with joining in with the 45s, but I found out the group leader had planned on going past my house and along my normal training route. Not only did this not inspire me – it’s a perfectly good route, to be fair, I’ve just done it soooo many times – but I wasn’t sure I’d have the mental strength not to just go home!
So, the 30s it was. But this was far from the relatively gentle run the 30s can sometimes be.
In a departure from the norm, thanks to the brighter nights now, we headed into the nearby Ecos Conservation Park, the venue for the local parkrun.
It was road free, so no sneaky little breaks waiting to cross or anything like that and, as a result, the tempo increased significantly from what you’d usually expect.
I honestly didn’t think I had much left in my legs after Sunday, and whilst I did hold back a lot I also knew – once I’d started – that I could cope quite comfortably at a quicker pace if I needed to.
The heaviness in my legs just disappeared and it felt good just to be out running.
I did resist the temptation to run on ahead of the main group when invited to do so, but that was only with this Sunday in mind. I felt fresh enough to do it, I just needed to be sensible tonight.
As recovery runs go, this was pretty much spot on.
HUFF, PUFF AND SHUFFLE 