How? It shouldn't be possible...

A question I asked myself as I pushed for the last km at lunch time...

A question a mate (and far better athlete than me) said when I let her know how the first serious training run went...

A question I ruminated on as I dashed around this afternoon hating forms, despising ticketing machines and pondering the meaning of fate...

Basically, I set a new 5 mile PB, 50min and 17s.  Not greatly fast by running standards, but 50s faster than my last 5mile PB. 

Why "how?"?

I've not run a great deal for the last couple of months...

I've not run at all since my night run over Rivington, I've had a lurking cold that wiped me out...

This week I've felt better so as is my wont, and given my next visit to Rivington (a small matter of a trail marathon) is only 8 weeks away, I've been hammering the gym in the morning - hilly 3 milers in 15 min, followed straight away by 370ft on the stepper in 8min... Both Monday and Tuesday... Oh, I also climbed moderately hard on Monday night...

So tired, untrained, legs that felt heavy...

By the books I should have run a reasonable but not exceptional time - my target was sub-60min with a stretch target of 55min.  Did that then...

So what's the outcome of my ruminations...

Hills... I may not have run a lot but I have got out into the hills a couple of times in the last couple of months.  Although walking I'm increasingly walking "running style"... Light on my feet and light on my back.

Confidence... This time last year I didn't know I could run a sub-2:30 half, run an off road Half or even that I'd be able to finish an Ultramarathon.

Confidence... This time last year I didn't tend to run continually, I was still putting walk breaks into my runs of longer than 5km... Was it latent concern about the heart? Possibly... In fact, almost definitely.

Not deep thoughts, but probably good ones... So what next? For 5 miles - sub-50min... There were 3 canal bridges on the route, all damp and slippy... slippy enough that I walked them... 18s to cut off then;-)

TTFN

Paul

 

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