Parting Water

The weekend had its challenges, though in actual fact it wasn't as bad as it might have been. For Saturday we had an orange weather alert in Kerry due to the expected amount of rain. It was wet and windy, alright, but nothing that would have justified an orange alert here, though people living in the lower Shannon region might have a different view, obviously. I was planning on doing 12 miles at a faster pace but changed that to 10, not because I was tired or getting lazy but because I'm trying not to overdo things. The pace was definitely a surprise, even with a slower warm-up mile I still averaged below 7-minute pace. A few weeks ago I had felt too tired after running a few miles at 7;13 pace, this was almost 20 seconds per mile faster and I actually felt okay afterwards. Mind, looking at the HR figures in the cold light of day afterwards told me that I had run a bit too hard on this occasion as well.

I did pay the price for that on Sunday, as you inevitably do. The weather had improved, it wasn't raining at all and the wind had mostly died down, which right now feels like a major improvement, albeit only a temporary one. There was no excuse not to run around the lake and I wasn't looking for one, but after 12 miles or so I definitely started to feel yesterday's effort. I did recover a bit but the last 5 miles were definitely hard work rather than enjoyable. I kept telling myself that it's those kind of miles that really build up your fitness which kept me going, and even passing our driveway after 16.5 miles didn't tempt me to cut it short but I was definitely glad to be done when it was finally over.

I did hesitate to set the alarm for 5:25 on Monday morning but thanks to a mostly sleepless night (don't ask!) I didn't even need it and I was glad to finally get out of bed instead of tossing and turning. I wasn't exactly relishing the thought of another 15 miles, especially as it was raining heavily (certainly a lot worse than during Saturday's orange alert), but this time I really managed to surprise myself. The legs just ran by themselves and the miles just flew by effortlessly, and tired as I was from lack of sleep and running through a pitch dark landscape I kind of wonder if I was merely dreaming it all but the watch says I did indeed run, alright.

Early on, during the second mile and unbeknownst to me at the time, I passed the 5000 km mark for the year. Considering that I was out injured for 6 weeks during the summer, that is some solid mileage. Obviously, miles alone don't make a good runner (though it helps). Let's hope I'll manage to turn a solid base into a some decent performances next year.

12 Dec

10 miles, 1:09:26, 6:57 pace, HR 158

13 Dec

20 miles, 2:34:47, 7:44 pace, HR 149

14 Dec

15 miles, 1:54:48, 7:39 pace, HR 143

Weekly Mileage (up to Sunday): 91