And so onto day three of my Dublin training plan – an easy 5k.
After two fairly intense days of running I was initially looking forward to this, a chance to drop the pace and to loosen my legs ahead of a very busy weekend.
Except, throw in the heat and the fact my legs felt stiff, slow and every single one of their 47 years … I wasn’t entirely sure how this would go.
I ran with Iverene, which is always nice because we encourage each other although I did warn her that my plan called for an easy run, and easy I intended it to be!
For the second day in a row I ran along the dual carriageway to the industrial estate and back again. Boring and uninspiring but I know where I am with it. Yet, somehow, it didn’t seem as bleak this evening as it usually does … no doubt the sun helped with that.
Anyway, despite not being sure how it would go, it actually went very well. Once again, we tried to stay within a specific heart rate to ensure it would be easy.
Sometimes we went way over it, but it never felt uncomfortable or too fast. Then there were also occasions when we were within target but it felt we were going at a reasonable pace so, perhaps, this whole heart rate training kick is beginning to pay dividends.
Of course, the route came in at 3.07 miles so I insisted on a little squiggle around the car park at the end to bring it up to the magical 3.1 mark. Nothing else would do!
Thankfully, now, I’ve got two rest days ahead of me before my weekend trip to London for three races in three days. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but let’s see how I feel on the other side!
HUFF, PUFF AND SHUFFLE 