The sound of silence

After the painful and disheartening slog that was Wednesday's 3 mile run, I was feeling more than a bit apprehensive about today's planned 5 miles.  Especially since my training programme said that it was meant to be a tempo run for 3 of those miles, and I wasn't convinced that legs that were so recalcitrant on Wednesday would be willing to be cooperative today.  A sensible approach would have been to leave out the tempo as a way of making sure that things were back on track and, after taping my left achilles tendon and adding an extra strip along the outside of my calf for good luck, that's what I set out to do.

The wind tunnel at Newhall Point (road on right)

A mile in, and everything felt good at the easy pace.  I probably should have continued on at that speed but, competitive fool that I am (even though it's just with myself, as I'm too slow to be competitive with anyone else), decided to up my speed just to see what would happen.  My target speed for the tempo run was a 10min/mile for 3 miles and, for half a mile, I did this!  Then I rounded the corner at Newhall Point and almost was stopped in my tracks by a 17mph headwind.  I gave it a valiant effort but my speed dropped progressively over the next 3 miles, which included a half-mile uphill trundle, because of the force of the wind.  Once I was back on the flat and with the wind coming at me from the side instead of head on, my legs perked up and I finished the last 1.5 miles feeling strong. 

I finished the 5 miles in 55:12, which I thought wasn't bad given the wind and the usual stoppages for 4x4s and boy racers who felt unable to share the road with me.  I had no pain or even niggling in my ankles, calves, or other places.  I managed to run fast enough for the 3 tempo miles to challenge myself cardio-wise.  And, even though I was wearing my 12mm Guide 4s, I was running so lightly that I couldn't hear my footfalls.  No clomping, no heel drag, no scuffling.  I even unplugged myself from the iPod so that I could enjoy how quiet I was.

As Adam would say, the real test will be how I feel tomorrow and the next day.  Tonight, though, I feel very proud of myself!