This morning I woke up and, once I'd realised it was Saturday and not Friday, started debating whether to do 2 miles or 3. In the end I decided to see how it was going and make a decision when I got to the 1 mile point. I went my usual route across the fields and then down the down's link (Google earth map at the end). By getting out before 7:30 I avoided the worst of the heat (only 17 Celsius according to the met office) and with plenty of shade and a slight breeze this was the most pleasant run this summer.
As I got into the woods half a mile in I decided to go a bit further on the out leg and then reduce the return run in order to avoid running uphill at the end. I'm fairly sure by now that going uphill puts more pressure on the damaged fascia in my leg, probably due to the extra muscular force needed. At this point I was still deciding whether to run 2 miles or 3, though as I felt pretty good I was leaning towards 3. Quick mental maths told me I needed to do 1.25 miles on the out leg to avoid the last half mile on the return for 2 miles, so that meant 2.25 miles on the out leg if doing 3 miles.
As my calf continued to be pain free I decided to do the 3. As I passed under the A264 about 1.5 miles in I was starting to think that it felt like a long run, but I just assumed it was because I've been doing such short distances recently and was turning after the half way point. As I came back off the down's link and onto the fields I had the feeling of actually taxing my body for the first time since the week of the 20th May, but it was only when I finished and checked my watch to see the time that I realised why.
As I'm sure most of you have already picked up I actually did 4 miles (well 3.90). As adding a mile to the out lap increased the total distance by two. Fortunately I didn't cripple myself in that extra mile and it turned out to be a really nice steady run, staying under 9:30 miles until right near the end except when crossing styles. This is probably the first time that I've held myself under the 165 bpm mark without having to think about it, probably aided by the lower temperature. Plus it's a nice confidence boost knowing the progression to 4 mile runs next week should go fairly smoothly.
The plan is to run an easy mile tomorrow. Originally this would have been a warm up for my first hill sprint, but with the removal of any serious speed work from the training plan it's just going to be a bonus mile that I'm actually quite looking forward to.
The stats:
Distance: 3.90 miles
Time: 36 mins 20s
Pace: 09:18 min/mile
Average HR: 156bpm
Google Earth File: HERE
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