Brass monkeys

I've been reading Tom's blog a lot recently and wondering about how he manages to run in the heat. Well, at the moment here in France, the problem is quite the opposite as it's almost 40°C cooler.

I didn't realise how cold it was to begin with. I set out my running kit the night before and this entails at least 3 layers for the top, my fleece skiing hat and some long running tights or tracksuit bottoms. Today this was capped off with the frontal headlap so I must have looked very fetching as I set off in the dark for my 1 hour endurance session.

I was aiming for 4:43 pace or thereabouts as this corresponds to 70% of my max HR. So basically, 13 km in an hour before going to work. I managed the first few kilometres with difficulty as my legs were still tired from last night's session. This and the cold, as I learnt that it was -5°C when I got back to the house, meant that I did the first 2 km in 4:45 then 4:40 despite the fact that it was downhill to the Seine. Once I warmed up a little with the effort, I was much better and by the end I was able to push the pace slightly finishing the last 2 km in 4:25 and 4:23.

13.3 km all up in 1:01 or an average of 4:37 per km. So still on target and happy with my progress. Roll on Springtime and some warmer weather.