Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Contrasting Conditions

You would have thought I know by now what time I should set my alarm to for a 10 mile run; after all I must have done hundreds of those in the last few years. However, it seems that is not the case because on Monday morning I got it wrong. To top the annoyance factor, I was awake early anyway because the wind and rain kept banging loudly against our window. By the time I suddenly realised my mistake I had just enough time for 9 miles. Not a biggy, just mildly annoying, Mind, considering the conditions and my tired legs from the speed work and mountain running over the weekend, 9 miles were almost certainly sufficient anyway.

The conditions could not have been any different on Tuesday. It was a bright sunny day and even when I set off it was already bright and the birds were twittering loudly, all of which was a first for the year. It was rather cold (2C/36F) and initially I regretted wearing shorts rather than tights but after a mile or so the legs felt reasonably warmed up. There was virtually no breeze and the lake looked just stunning and incredibly peaceful in the morning light. The legs felt good as well, though I was still able to feel some residual fatigue from the weekend, but that did not take away anything from the enjoyment. I was thinking how lucky I was, running in such stunning scenery, very fit and reasonably healthy (I had a bit of a sore throat, though it did not really bother me). The pace was a little bit faster than most recent runs without the effort or HR being any higher - I really might be getting into shape at just the right time for once!

On Wednesday it was back to being utterly miserable. It only started raining at around 5:30 (I know because it woke me up) and it stopped only 4 or so hours later, but my morning run fell right into that time slot. I wanted to do one light-ish session before the Tralee marathon, with a few miles alternating slightly slower and slightly faster than marathon pace. Since I am not training for a marathon I don't really know what my present marathon pace is (and of course I am not going to race Tralee), so I figured a 3:10(ish) marathon is 7:15 pace and accordingly I alternated 7 and 7:30 miles. Actually, I ran back and forwards on the same piece of road towards Ard-na-Sidhe which is slightly longer than a mile. The last mile and a bit were on the way home, but conditions were still the same.

The exact paces on the movescount website were 6:58 / 7:32 / 6:58 / 7:32 / 7:00 / 7:36 / 7:00 / 7:27, which is a couple of seconds slower than the watch had displayed at the time, which is slightly interesting from a geeky data point of view but rather irrelevant from a training one. I was really please by how the run went and how the pace had felt reasonably comfortable and relaxed at all times.

I still have a bit of a sore throat but looking at my numbers it does not seem to have any effect on my running. There is always the possibility that a more extreme effort (as in the Tralee marathon) will bring up otherwise hidden health issues, but I think I'll be okay. If things start going wrong I'll re-adjust my pace, like I did in Donadea.

As for Turin, I'm half-wishing that the weather will be utterly miserable with hours and hours of wind and rain. After the last few months I sure would be better adapted to those conditions than most of my competitors! (ok, be careful what you wish for!)

Late Update: I just came across this. This is so utterly wrong, stupid and discriminating, words just fail me. I know Sinead (and John as well, of course). She is a real inspiration to visually impaired people, setting a wonderful positive example. What the organisers are thinking is beyond me.

9 Mar
9 miles, 1:11:41, 7:58 pace, HR 140
10 Mar
10 miles, 1:16:43, 7:40 pace, HR 142
11 Mar
am: 12.25 miles, 1:31:02, 7:26 pace, HR 151
   6:58 / 7:32 / 6:58 / 7:32 / 7:00 / 7:36 / 7:00 / 7:27
pm: 5 miles, 38:10, 7:38 pace, HR 141

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