Getting up late yesterday morning yielded a couple of benefits: I didn’t have time to go for a long run in the hissing rain and the rain stopped by the time I was ready. Judging by the amount of standing water, it was going to be a hilariously muddy affair. I had washed and properly dried my runners last week (they were gleaming, quite frankly) and as I ran towards the path signposted ‘ankle high mud’, they skipped merrily past in the other direction… me having no alternative than to skip along too, on account of my being tied into them!
So this was a rare road run around town. I love looking at other peoples houses (where does the apostrophe go??!) so I munched my way along the sidewalks happily gazing sideways. I quickly realised that this was going to be a ‘hot lap’ in more ways than one. There was a moment when the sun came out and I was instantly roasted alive inside my Gore jacket.
I have been vacillating over which item of gear is my favourite. The contenders are my disco runners, my all-weather Gore jacket, my woollen (two L’s) Thurlo socks, my iQ beanie… but today I decided it has to be my lambswool soft Rono under-layer. I realise I’ve just said my, my, my, my, my… but if you’re jealous, go see Kurt at Run and he’ll sort you out with your own! The Rono under-layer is just a little thin t-shirt made of the softest material known to man; worn underneath the Gore jacket, it is SO comfortable and if you’re looking for a last minute present for a runner in your family, this is it! And SO perfect for a Boxing Day jog!
Ah… Christmas presents! That reminds me… I really must go shopping!
For some reason I keep kicking the inside of my left ankle with my right shoe (like just once or twice in a run) and running on tarmac enabled me to focus on what was happening at ground level. I think that I have stopped focusing on this important area and that some imperfections have crept in: not extending my legs enough; or landing on the outside of the heel; and certainly not leaving from the big toe, rather just from the front of the shoe. Running on mud masks these aspects as the focus is on staying upright, especially if there’s a camera around!
The route was a mixture of downs and ups in the end and I ran within a reasonable envelope of speed (not sprinting nor crawling) so I was quite surprised when I calculated the results. I ran five miles in 40 minutes, which is 7.5mph on the nose… truly a hot lap!
phew! – lets have some that pace tomorrow – maybe a road run so my trainers can get a rest from the washing machine for a week!?
oh, and it’s other people’s houses 😉