A Suprise Run in Daylight

This afternoon I had a but of a surprise as my manager was kind enough to offer us a mid-afternoon start to the weekend, so I got on my bike and headed home for a run in the daylight, which is a rare treat on a weekday. It was above freezing outside, though the evening would bring cold temperatures, and that too was a good thing to avoid. The snow/rain that was forecast for the afternoon never came and the sidewalks were relatively dry and clear, save for a few pretty big puddles that I had to jump over.

After my experience on Wednesday, where I ran a bit faster than I should have, I decided to really keep a close eye on my pace and stick to the intended 6:00 per kilometre. I was hoping that this would also allow me to run pain free in the knee. After feeling that twinge on Wednesday I felt fine, but I still didn't want to push it.

I managed the 6k in a time of 35:38 for an average pace of 5:56/km, right on target. My fastest kilometre was 5:51 and the slowest was 6:00. It's pretty hard trying to stay on a specific pace when running fairly slowly I find, especially when navigating all the pedestrains on the main streets. I find the elderly the hardest (with the dim witted couples in the early stages of courtship taking up the entire width of the sidewalk as they giggle in anticipation over slobbering on each other later in the evening coming in a close second), though they seem to fall in one of three categories: 1. the completely oblivious (don't see anyone else, don't care, just moving along), 2. the bitter (scowling at me as I run past, and likely at everyone else), and 3. the friendly (smiling at me as I run past, and likley at everyone else). I like the last ones the most as they are aware of their surroundings and curteous enough to get out of the way, all with a smile and a neighbourly nod.

Anyway, the run was fun. I didn't get to do any push ups or sit ups since I was busy watching a movie with the boys while Mon went out for her run, then cleaning and rewaxing our skiis, then preparing food for tomorrow, and now getting ready to do some much needed stretching. Tomorrow it's supposed to be -21C in the morning, and a high of -19C (which I think is about -2F) for the day, which will make for a freezing cold day of skiing. We'll see how much skiing will actually get done with the boys, but I am hoping to get at least one good trail under my belt.

Garmin don't lie.


View Larger Map