Week 8 has proven to be a really good one for me in my ongoing progress back after the strain to my side. I managed to complete 2 x 12km runs throughout this week!
The week started with only doing a short 5km run. This was mainly due to me running at a much later time due to not being able to get to work until after 7:00am. I still wanted to get both my personal prayer and saxophone practice in before the start of the teaching day which meant that would only be possible with less time on the path. The run went quite well, completing the 5.2km in a time of 26:22 which is 5’04 per km.
Tuesday saw the first longer run, I was quite apprehensive about this one! I managed to be on the road running before it clocked over 5:30am. This is just as well due to the expected high temperatures, I really wanted to get it all done. Overall, the run went well. My calves did feel tight at various points throughout the run which was to be expected as it is almost a month of lighter running. I did, however managed to do a reasonable time, averaging a pace of 5’16” per km which meant the 12km was done in 1:03:40. Tuesday night saw me pull out my new compression sleeves for my calves for the first time. I actually slept in them throughout the night to try and help in the recovery after the run.
Wednesday saw me return to a lesser distance, the 5km circuit. This was not due to soreness but because of practicality. Band rehearsals start at 7:00am and there’s no way for me to get in the run plus my personal prayer time that I have been having in the school chapel everyday. I had hoped to get up 30 minutes earlier (4:30am) but, yeah, that didn’t happen – something to work for over the Summer perhaps? The run went well, but a bit slower than Monday’s time with me coming in at 30:01 for the 5.34km which is a 5’37” average pace.
Thursday saw me undertake my second 12km run for the week. Again, I had hope to get up a little earlier than normal to ensure that I’d have a good practice session as well on my saxophone. Unfortunately, the alarm went off at 4:30am, but I didn’t get up. My time was good and consistent compared to earlier in the week, completing the 12km in 1:03:24 which is an average pace of 5’17”.
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Friday has seen me finish with the shorter run of 5km. I had a lot of work to get done before a planning day which meant I needed to get out there and get back in – the extra 30 minutes would be valuable. The run kept the consistency in pace to my other runs of the 12km, but a little slower the the 5km pace with me coming in a 5’33” per km with 5.33km completed over 29:40.
Next week is going to be different again as I am out on Professional Development for a Lote of it. This means a few different run courses, and who knows, maybe I cam stretch that distance a little further as well once or twice!
