After a rest day on Tuesday my flatmate Wes asked if he could join me for a 4 mile run on Wednesday evening. I was a bit dubious I would manage to keep up but he promised to go slow and let me dictate the pace. After settling in for a mile or so he started ramping up the speed and encouraging me to follow suit. Pushing myself to run harder up the hills and sprinting between particular sections along the straights really made a difference and I was grateful for his encouragement and refusal to let me slack off. Other than my races it was the first time I've really broken a sweat and got my heart pumping hard. It proved I definitely need to switch up my training if I want to see any real improvement in my fitness levels. Wes has said he'll come out with me once a week - which would be good.
After witnessing the powers of the Garmin last week I decided to bite the bullet and invest in the Foreunner 305. It arrived on Friday and I immediately unwrapped it, whacked it on charge and devoured the user guide. As i'm doing the majority of the training on my own I think this will be a good gadget to own. As well as measuring the time, distance, pace and calories burned you can set all sorts of alerts to ensure you know how far you've gone, if you're slowing down too much and whether or not you're running at an appropriate heart rate. So far I've just used its basic capabilities but am looking forward to testing out all the functionality over the next four months.
The Garmin's first outing was a quick 3 miler around the regular Battersea route. I cranked up the pace, spurred on by the alerts that let me know when i'd hit each mile marker. I felt like i'd run pretty hard and was gasping for the finish line so was somewhat surprised to learn it had taken me 27 minutes and 32 seconds. That was over a minute slower than my Pants in the Park effort a month earlier. Maybe it had something to do with it being the end of a long week or maybe it was down to the two and a half pints of lager i'd had over a long lunch but either way it felt like a lot more effort than it really should have.
My final run of the week was a whopping 6 miles. I was actually a bit nervous before I set off but decided to take it super slow and aim to just chalk up the distance without stopping or slowing to a walk. The Garmin was on its second outing and after taking a moment to locate the satellites I was off. Slightly varying my usual route I headed down the north side of the river past Albert Bridge, then past Chelsea Bridge and down to the next one which is Vauxhall Bridge. There I crossed the river and turned back down to Battersea Park for a single lap before heading for home. I had measured out the distance on MapMyRun before setting off and had made the decision not to set a time goal, so after pressing Start I resolved not to look at the watch again until I got to the end. With the exception of a few short bursts of speed I kept a steady pace that felt very comfortable cardiovascularly. I didn't get bored or fight my way round. Knowing I would be out at least an hour heped me relax into the run from the outset and I can honestly say that it was much easier than I thought it would be. Running mostly a familiar route gave me comfort but adding in the new section kept it fresh. My left leg got a bit sore right towards the end and my hips felt a weird but otherwise it was all good. I think I might ice my knees... just as a precaution.
In week 3 i'll be trying out running home from work and taking my trainers across the Channel for a spot of jogging in Brussels. Can't wait.
The Long Run
Distance: 6.75 miles
Time: 1 hour 6 minutes 45 seconds
Pace: 9.53/mile
New experiences: The Garmin Forerunner 305
Crossing Vauxhall Brige
Running with a boy
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