This morning, delayed by a lay-in, dawned cool and overcast and after the gorgeous spring weather that we were experiencing in April, felt colder than it probably was.
I put my longs on, along with a long-sleeved top with a t-shirt over the top. This was sheer vanity, I’m afraid, as the tight black shirt and tights hide none of my bulk, or rather lack of it!
As I trotted off down the road I realised that my hips still ache when I run… I was hoping that I would have recovered from the rigours of the marathon & training programme by now. I’ve not been stretching diligently lately though, so that could be part of the problem, but at least the discomfort faded as the run progressed.
My route today was the same as last week… the lovely path out to the Royal Oak, Wivelsfield, West Wood and the Magical Path… and early on I decided that I would at least try for a good time. Reading my posts you might surmise that I’m more often reluctant than not and this morning was no different… I was happy to run, but it wasn’t super-enjoyable!
Within ten minutes I had got hot under the two layers but I pushed on regardless. The going was mainly dry and rutted which meant that I was running with my gaze just in front of my feet most of the time. It was generally hard work and I hoped that this indicated that I was running faster, rather than I was unfit.
There is little of consequence to report other than I almost caught a lady with her trousers down on the Common… she had just stepped into a snug little corner in the bushes and lifted her jacket as if she were preparing to have a pee when she clocked me running down the hill towards her… it was a close run thing and there was an almost tangible sigh of relief on both sides!
I motored along the last section of road to the house to finish in a time that was less than 44 minutes, which I was not overly impressed with.
Until I looked back at my previous times and realised that out of the 22 times I’ve run this route, my best time ever was 43 minutes and I’ve also only managed 44 minutes once before So second-best time ever and although it wasn’t easy, I didn’t keep the pressure on all the way around so I reckon I could do it faster.