Well, some things are hard to explain.
After running a lot of easy miles I decided to stretch my legs a bit again and anyway, I had to catch up on some of those virtual events I had signed up some time around Christmas but was too lazy to actually do. The one on my mind was the virtual Beaufort 10k, because that's the annual race organised by my old club in Kerry.
In order to get some zip into the old legs I did a fast mile on Friday morning in Bray's Peoples Park. I certainly didn't do an all-out mile time trial but I thought I did put some decent effort into it, so I was a bit shocked to see a time of 6:45 for that mile. Now, I know I have slowed down a fair amount the last few years but it doesn't seem THAT long ago that I ran a couple of marathons faster than that, so that's quite a shocking performance. The fact that it was on a slightly snowy surface didn't serve as an excuse. While I did slow down a tad at the corners in order not to lose my grip that should not have cost much, and nowhere near enough to explain such a slow time.
I awoke suitably chastised the next morning to be greeted by a blanket of snow covering our garden as well as the roads, with a layer of ice underneath, so there was no way I would be able to run a time trial on that and back onto the treadmill it was.
I'm not sure how much effect the treadmill has on speed/effort. I know I get really hot, so longer efforts add some extra effort but shorter runs may well be easier on the treadmill. I guess that would explain why I managed to run 10k at virtually the same pace as that mile the day before and again, it wasn't an all-out effort. Still, that's quite startling. But at least it does indicate that a 6:45 mile time doesn't fully reflect my actual present state of fitness. I'd be worried if it did.
The other thing to mention is that Ray's Marathon Challenge hast started. As a reminder, the aim is to run at least one marathon every week, not all in one go, and so far so good. I'm halfway through my fund raising target already, so that's good and I should definitely get there by the end of the year. But if you could click on the link and donate a few quid, that would be great. It is for Laura Lynn, and they are desperate for your support. Thank you!
