Two more commutes

Two more commutes today, and more evidence of steady improvement. I love this stage when you’re training for anything – the improvement curve is so steep at the moment that every run has something better than the last.

This morning and it was the pace. I was conscious as I set out this morning that I’d been running as fast or faster during my long Sunday runs than I was in the short sprint to the office, so deliberately set out to lift the pace a little as I trudged along Manchester Road towards Salford.

Unfortunately, while this was working quite well for the first 10 minutes or so, the effects of Sunday’s 9-miler (well, almost!) began to kick in and my legs suddenly felt heavy and lifeless. You can see it clearly on the graph here – a nice steady plateau followed by a sudden dip and then, frankly, a struggle just to keep the pace steady.

That said, I was delighted to get to the end and find I’d broken through the 5min per kilometre threshold I’d been targeting.

I didn’t quite make the same pace on the way home, despite my legs obviously being warmer than they were first thing. That said, I did stretch the route out a little and headed straight down Barlow Moor Road and through Chorlton Park; I felt like I was pushing a little harder than usual – and I did only miss out by a second or two per km.

Not sure if I’m going to squeeze in another commute this week, but my weekly mileage is already up to 15m or thereabouts and I’ll be breaking double figures for my Sunday run for the first time in months this weekend coming, so progress on lots of fronts.

Still a long way to go before I’ll be in a position to enjoy the Coniston 14, but I’m more confident with each run that I’ll at least make it to the starting line.

Next target – the 8min mile.