What a glorious morning for a run! I was up and out of the door soon after 7 this morning. I’d got everything ready the night before, so just had to eat a banana and have a cuppa. Warm up stretches, running vest complete with jelly juice drink and nutrition bar, armband heart monitor, headphones and sun visor! There’s so much stuff to organise 😊
My warm up consists of a bit more now than when I did C25K. It’s what works for me. I walk for about 5 minutes - then do a mixture of running and jogging for another 10. I stop and do a few more stretches. If this had been a speed run, or intervals I would have done a few strides, but it was a slow HR run so I didn’t do any. All that preparation helps me to be warmed up and to avoid the Toxic Ten - my bitter enemy!
My run this morning was going to be a 90 minute run in HR range 121 - 134. After close to 6 months on this program my stamina and fitness have improved such that my zones have changed slightly, making in easier to stay in my new Zone 1. I had hopes of a 10K today but it wasn’t the main objective. That’s what I kept telling myself! The main objective was to keep in the zone for 90 minutes. I thought that if I was close after 90 minutes I’d run on, still keeping in the zone. So I ran at the top of the given range (oh yes, occasionally encroaching into Zone 2) and after 90 minutes I was at about 9.1K. “Go on” said a voice from somewhere. “You know you want to!” The workout ended but I pressed continue and ran on for another few minutes! Well, 9 minutes to be exact 🤣
I ended the run as I was level with a gentleman walking his dog, who turned out to be a swimmer and was interested in my watch. He used to be a runner and now swims 3 times a week. I often find people to chat to on my runs!
The beauty of this low HR running is that I wasn’t out of breath when I stopped and didn’t even raise a sweat!
It was lovely to be running early. Well, it was early when I started! As the time went on there were lots of people running, walking, with and without dogs. At one point, I was running behind a woman who was walking quite quickly. I could see that if I drew level with her it would take me some time to pass her, so I diverted to a different route. I ended up behind her again about 20 minutes later, but fortunately she turned down a side street!
I often see a gentleman walking his yellow Labrador on my runs. I saw him today and greeted him. We are now on “Hi, how are you?” terms, rather than “Good morning”! He said to me “Another slow run today, then?” 🤣
So back home I diligently do some static stretches and drink some water. I notice that in spite of encroaching into Zone 2, my average HR was 133, so success! I finish off my protein bar and make myself a coffee while running a bath, after which I prepared myself the Breakfast of Champions 😊 🥣
Happy running 😊👍🏃♀️
A treat in the sunshine 
