The Fastest 2K So Far

I knew this was coming. Yesterday I ran the fastest 2K at close to 6 min per km. Fastest since I started running at this old age. This was substantially faster than the one I had clocked earlier in March this year. I knew this was coming but didn't know it would come on an evening when it was particularly  so humid. I had thought it would perhaps come late in October when the weather starts to get just a bit chilly.

Humidity was really bad last night. When i was walking to the Lake I was sneezing a lot and had a sort of runny nose. While stretching I felt so humid I was having to wipe my face several times. Normally I never wipe my face before the end of the run. In fact I had half a mind to go back home. Something I have never done so far. If I come out to run I run. 

I finally started despite all the trepidations. I thought I would go for a slow 3 km and started really slow. Normally I mentally measure my cadence the first couple of minutes. Usually it is 75x2. Yesterday I did not measure it but I guess it would have been somewhere in the region of 60x2. I looked at the pace once. It was 8:40 min per km. That's really slow. I stepped up the pace a bit. I thought instead of 3K I would go for a fast 2K if the first lap was in good time. 

When I saw that the first lap was done in 6 min and some seconds and I was feeling pretty strong, I told myself I'd go for a fast 2K. To my utter surprise I could quite step up the gas and not feel too exhausted. Ultimately I ended up running the fastest 2K of my life. Well not life really but life as an old-age runner. 

I am happy with my performance. The trend is faster. I just hope that I don't come down with any injury. I think my aim should be to now consolidate on this 6 min per kilo time and then go for a 3K at 18 minute. I know it will happen right away. But no harm targeting that.

Another great thing that happened last night was the average bpm of the heart. It was one of the lowest at 149. My average was coming to around 152. This was lower despite the higher speed. Another point worth mentioning. It was a holiday. Office was closed and I was at home the whole day, lazing around. 

Second Sub-13 min 2K of the Year

Today I ran a sub-13 min 2 km course at the Lake, despite the humidity and the nagging Achilles pain. This is significant given that I have started running about a month and a half ago after a long hiatus due to my plantar injury. In fact I started only after coming back from Amsterdam and that too to justify my new purchase of a pair of Asics shorts. My average times were coming to around 15 minutes for two kilometers. This reduced a bit over a few weeks but I could not break even the 14-minute barrier, largely because of the windless and humid conditions. So that way it is quite an achievement for me to shave off almost two minutes from the average time.

This is in fact the second time this year I ran 2 km below 13 minutes. The previous one was clocked some time in March this year when I was doing a lot of exercises for the legs. I still remember how strong I was feeling on that day in my legs. Here is a link to my post on that run .

Today's run, in comparison, was done more like a routine daily run but with a little extra push.

Today is Tuesday. I ran a relatively fast one km on Sunday. That was done at a fast clip right from the word go. I found I managed a decent sub 6 minute time. Although I stopped running after 1 km, I thought I could have pulled off another one km, perhaps at a slower speed. Today I was mentally prepared to go all out for the first km and then finish the next km, no matter how slowly.

I think on Thursday, my next day for jogging, I will push myself in the 2nd km as well.

I am more than confident that if I carry on pushing myself I can do a sub-12 min 2 km as well. All I need to do is strengthen the legs through lunges and other exercises.

But what was remarkable about today's run is the relative performance of the heart. My average heart beat per minute for today's run was much less than what I managed in March. This means my heart has become more efficient in pumping blood. In easier words, the March effort was more taxing for the heart than this one.

I salute modern technology for helping me know and understand all this about my body. The Garmin watch is really worth it.

Friday, 15th September 2017

Yesterday I ran yet another sub-13 min 2 km on that same course. A few seconds faster in fact. That makes it two back to back fast runs. Fast by my standards of course. I was feeling a lot more tired yesterday. Probably because of hydration. It might well be the breezeless climate. The previous night it was a little breezy. Not so last night.

For the first time in life I used a mobile phone while running. Kept it in my pocket. The wire ran up my body below the running T. I had set the metro at 80 beats per minute. One for each right step. That's the way I count my cadence. All I needed to do was match my steps to the beats and I would get a cadence of 160, which is pretty taxing for me. I could run at that cadence only for some time. I was usually slower than that and often faster. But synchronising my steps exactly with the beats was difficult. I don't think I will want to take the mobile phone with me again.

If I could see my cadence on the watch then I would probably buy a foot pod. But that's not possible. I can get the cadence with the gadget only after coming back home. Of no use to me.