Training: ENE from the office 5K

With the days still devoid of lunchtime meetings, I took the opportunity to go for another run today. The 3rd in 4 days, no less. (What was that I said about not overdoing it? 👀)

Anyway, feeling particularly uninspired , I let the internet choose where I would run, firing up a random direction spinner. It told me to head ENE, so I quickly mapped out a route on onthegomap.com, which just happened to be a couple of hundred metres shy of 5km.

That distance was okay; all I wanted was a slow but steady run, as I'd felt a bit of pain in my toe this morning. I didn't care how far I went, really — just going for a run was the important bit. I reckoned a 6:00/km pace would be fine. Or even sensible, to avoid worsening the toe.

As it happened, the first kilometre was almost exactly 6-minute pace; just a few seconds over. Sure enough though, once settled in, I raised the pace a little in the next kilometre without realising I was doing it. And again for the third kilometre. Then it all slowed down again as the fourth was predominantly uphill. And finally, for the last 800m or so, I actually hit a sub-5-minute pace for what felt like the first time in ages.

No photos today though. Despite getting it wrong, I was actually concentrating on my pace and didn't want to confuse matters by pausing things.

Next up is a probable parkrun in two days' time. Not sure where yet, but I'm no longer looking to hit new venues, so I guess I'll just go wherever I fancy on the day. Not bothered about getting a fast time either, so I could maybe go somewhere hilly. Time to try out the trail shoes at Chopwell Wood, perhaps?