Six Mile Saturday Slog

Posted by Steve ()

December 29, 2007

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Decided to get out for an early run today (like the good old days) and planned to get in at least 5 steady miles. I read last night that the temperature would be in the mid 60’s by lunchtime, but listening to the wind howling outside as I got dressed, I feared for something a lot cooler. I layered up on top, but that turned out to be a mistake. Luckily, however, I only wore shorts on the bottom (I’ll only wear running tights/pants when it’s less than 30°F).

Setting off in the dark I had no grand illusions for a fast first mile. I wasn’t disappointed - it was an 8:06. No problem though, this was supposed to be an easy, steady run to start building up the miles in my legs. The second and third miles were into a stiff wind (according to my MotionBased stats, the wind was anywhere from 18.4 to 21.9mph), but I managed to speed up a bit - 7:27 and 7:32 respectively.

I could have headed for home at this point but decided on a slight detour to make the run up to 6 miles. My legs still felt sluggish and my breathing labored, but I kept reminding myself that this is the early stages of rebuilding my fitness and it’s supposed to feel like this. I also reminded myself it’s my own fault for having such a slack post Thanksgiving period of training.

By now it was daylight and with the temperature a crazy 68°F I was starting to feel hot. I stripped off the top layer, tied it around my waist and picked up the pace a little. The last mile was a real effort but I managed to duck under seven minutes and record a 6:54.

So, another 6 miles in the bank and another step in the right direction to get my fitness back on track. I’m going to follow this run with the first workout of week 2 in the Essential Abs program. I’ll try and post more details later on.

Have a great weekend and be safe in your running adventures, whatever and wherever they may be….

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