Recovery run - of sorts

I wanted to get out this morning to fit in a recovery run. Laurence tried to talk me out of it last night by telling me that I'd be better off spending an extra hour in bed, but I was hearing none of this. It's almost I though I had a litle devil on my shoulder telling me to take some time off, take it easy, relax it won't matter. I'm not convinced and my performance yesterday and the relative performances of the runners around me has only spurred me on to try harder.

When the alarm rang at 6:00 am I have to admit that I had second thoughts. It's all very well to be fired up, enthusisatic and positive about your running performance but when faced with the prospect of a run or an extra hour in bed when you're already sleep deprived... well, it's a bit like offering chocolate to an underfed youth.

Let it be noted that I went running nevertheless.

Now that I feel all virtuous I can also let you know what happened. I planned on my usual route around Maisons Laffitte as it's now dark again at this time in the morning. I told myself that I could wear my new Saucony Kinvara as I would be sticking to the roads. I told myself that I would just take it easy.

The weather outside was perfect. Dawn was still a few minutes away but there were few clouds and a temperature of around 10°C, no wind and ideal conditions for running.After only a few steps, I felt good. It often happens that after a race the previous day, I'm on a high and have a burst of energy. The fact that the race was only 5k probably helped in that I had more energy that lasted longer. Running was easy and I let myself go and enjoyed being outside. I didn't look at the watch for the first 4 km but knew that the pace was good. When the Garmin beeped for the next kilometre I snuck a look and the feelings were confirmed : 4:19 and not yet 22:30 for total time so an average under 4:30.

This further convinced me to fly and blast it. The shoes are excellent - lightweight and with excellent grip, they just suit my running style perfectly. I loooked at my splits now and all were around 4:16 - 4:20 so just slower than marathon pace. I pushed an extra loop in fornt of the castle and headed home, running the last kilometre in 3:46 just to show I could.

12,1km all up in 52:26 or an average of 4:20 per km. Why don't I feel like this every time I go out?