Stupid Trees...

I'm feeling totally worn out these days, and I think it's because of the stupid trees and their annoying (but clearly necessary) reproductive cycle. For years, I've suffered with allergies to tree pollen, and have been getting immunotherapy shots every Winter for the past five years to help. Even so, sometimes the crap hits me pretty hard. I'm not completely incapacitated like I used to be before the shots, but it makes sleeping difficult and, by extension, I am constantly tired.

Anyway, blah blah blah. Long story short, this affects my running in that I have absolutely no gas (unless I eat too much cauliflower! <rimshot>!!!</rimshot>). Case in point, on Tuesday I ran my usual 5km route, but only manged a snail pace with an average heart rate to match (112bpm). Hardly broke a sweat.

This morning was a bit better, but I definitely started off thinking it would be much the same. In the end I managed an average heart rate of 125bpm, with the last 3km at 128bpm average and the pace just at or under 6:00/km. Not breaking any records, but it is good to see that I can run at that pace with such a low heart rate even when I feel worn out. A while back I was unable to run even this fast and keep my heart rate under 145bpm! This slow running is starting to pay off I think. Perhaps there is hope for some day being able to run a BQ pace and remain in the aerobic zone? Will I still be running when 6:00/km IS my BQ pace several decades from now?

Perhaps...

Here's how the running for April went in summary:

Again, not breaking any land speed records or impressing with the total mileage, but I am proud of that average heart rate. Means I'm staying true to my goal of not pushing it to the point where I have incurred injuries in the past. Running should be enjoyable, blah blah blah. And bleh...