Bring Me sunshine

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 50m14s
Mile 1 - 10m23s
Mile 2 - 10m01s
Mile 3 - 10m10s
Mile 4 - 9m57s
Mile 5 - 9m43s

An "Easy" 50 minute run this evening. What's easy? And easy run is when you can hold a conversation... but since I run alone if I were to have a conversation, I'd just be talking to myself, which would get terribly boring because half the time I'd know what I was going to say next. Hmmm. Steady is 10-minute-miles, so easy must be 11-minute miles. I'll try that. So I'll try 4.5 miles that should do it.

I set off from work on the 4 mile route I've done several times before, and deliberately tried to keep it slow and easy. But it's no good you know, I just can't run that slow anymore. Even with a slight soreness in my left achilles and the persistent yet not painful twinge in my right knee. These are problems which meant yesterday's fast run wasn't the fastest 5 miles I've run, but they are also problems easily overcome out on the road which means that a 10-minute-mile pace is still relatively easy over this distance. Am I doing it wrong? Should I have more self discipline to force myself to run at an easier pace?

I dunno. Anyway, I made it round the 4 miles (actually my Garmin measured the distance as a 100 yards or so past the point where I'd normally stop), and I just kept going round the block covering another mile instead of a half. On these last couple of laps round the block the sun was shining on my back as it dipped in the sky. My shadow loomed out in front of me, making my legs look 30 feet tall. Or perhaps as if I was running on huge tall shoes (like those mentioned in @Dave_Gorman 's BBC2 show, Genius). As I ran after my shadow along the road, I was bemused to watch my gait. I'd never noticed how much I swing my feet out when running. The length of the shadow accentuated my running style. It almost looked like I was kicking my feet out sideways with each step (especially my right foot). A little bit like Morecombe & Wise. I resisted the temptation to swing my hands up behind my head with each alternate stride.

50 minutes in, and pretty much dead on 5 miles I stopped, and walked back to work. Stretched and changed, and then off to the gym for half an hour to make the most of my weekly pass. I did 100 reps on the adductor and abductor, then ran single-footed on the leg press (40 reps each foot), then did some upperbody work on shoulder & chest presses. Then off home for the odd combination of sausages, black pudding, sweetcorn, gravy and ... pasta. Call me weird, but my protein & carbs diet seems to be just what I need at the moment.

Officially it's a day off tomorrow, but I'm planning a swim. And I've mapped out my 18 mile route for Sunday's LSR. Yep. Three whole hours of me, my thoughts and the Oxfordshire countryside.