Early morning

Been hard pressed to get out for a run this week, missing both sessions with the club. It was a bit of relief finally to be able to go for a run and on a beautiful morning such as this morning, it was a real pleasure.

I set the alarm for 6:30 but whether it was due to the excitement of going for a run, I managed to wake up before the alarm went off and went outside. The sun was just beginning to rise and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The temperature was around 10°C and the weather was simply ideal.

I headed down to the Seine and ran my marathon training route through Maisons Laffitte which is about 13km long. I was aiming to run for an hour and this route fit the bill. The pace was steady to start with, going through the first kilometre in 4:29 and I planned to keep it that way over the session, not exerting myself too much. The problem with the autolap, though, is that you just can't help yourself from looking at it. After that first glance at 1km, I managed to resist the temptation until the 4th kilometre and then had another glance: 4:23. I was feeling really easy and enjoying the run.

Some days seem to go so well that running is hardly an effort, and perhaps it was due to the week's rest but today felt just like this. I got into a good stride and my pace just increased naturally as the distance increased. By the end I was running at 4:08 pace and feeling good. I thought about all the weight that I needed to lose following the skiing and this week's business lunches. This just encouraged me further.

13.3km all up in 57:14 or an average of 4:18 per km. Excellent run before work.