Week 5, Day 5
Goal: 7 miles with middle 3
at half marathon pace
Actual: 7 miles at an
average of 10.07 min/mile … unable to speed up to HM pace on the middle 3 miles
due to deep snow.
I knew that this session was
going to be slightly different than the one scheduled due to the amount of snow
that came down today. It was a beautiful day, but not one designed for moving
at speed.
I decided that I’d aim to go
out and get the miles in. Even if the paths were too treacherous to change
paces at least the whole run would be at a higher intensity than usual due to
the ankle deep snow.
The light of the snow meant
that tonight I could reclaim one of my favourite routes which is usually lost
to me in winter due to its darkness and loneliness. It's beautiful and crosses
muddy trails, gravel paths, several bridges, fields, lanes pavements and canal
paths all in 3 miles. I would add on a 4 mile route through a housing estate
but the first 3 miles would be a treat.
It was a GOOD run. Not good
in terms of pace, nor in terms of fitting into my training schedule but just a
run on one of those days that it is good to be a runner and to be able to run
on.
It was a sensory run. No audiobook tonight. I was listening to the crunch and creak of snow under my shoes – who knew that snow creaks when you run on it? Smelling the grey, dusty smell of wood smoke and seeing the yellow light from the barges on the canal. Feeling the cold brush of the snow on my skin.
I ran on and into the housing estate and there was a fox in the road. He stopped and looked at me as though considering whether I was worth running from. A bark from a dog up the road made up his mind and he flowed smoothly across the road and into the hedge.
The snow was loose and
powdery and there was almost no ice at all. My calves were burning from the
extra work as it was like running on dry sand. With every step, the ground
shifted and moved and I left a trail of deep footprints behind me.
Car drivers crawling their
vehicles up the road craned their necks as I passed as if they couldn't believe
someone was running today. I ran on.
