Getting to Work on Labour Day

1^st May, 2013: Woke up very undecided about today’s run but think to myself of those marvelous quotes that have always kept me going:-

·   You can feel sore tomorrow or you can feel sorry tomorrow.

·   Run the day before the day runs you.

·    The only person who can tell you “You can’t” is you. And you don’t have to listen.

·    Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.

·   One day I will not be able to run and today is not that day.

·   Do today what others won’t so that you can do tomorrow what others can’t.

·   Age wrinkles the body but quitting wrinkles the soul….

The one that made me actually rush out of the house was - When you feel like quitting always remember why you started!

Torn apart on whether to take on Kangundo Road or go the City Mortuary route. Get into my knee length tights (three quarters), my long sleeved sweat t-shirt and have my ipod on – garmin searching satellite connection and it quickly blinks “ready” before I even warm up. Off I go and I am like shit – I forgot to use the cello tape! Damn, my t-shirt will be stained…again, but who cares of a little stain anyway.

Go for it and warm up with 4:58 in the first kilometer. The wind rushes past my legs cooling my leg muscles. Try not to speed and clean up my tank early – the road is packed with pedestrians and yet it’s a bloody public holiday, where are all these people going to anyway? Vehicles are also a real inconvenience especially at Donholm and Muthurwa/country bus area – bump into a few people in the process (walkers!)

Try to pay less attention to my garmin. Clear 7km – City Stadium in 33 minutes. The Upper Hill climb is still unforgiving, 5:36 and 5:12 but an improvement all the same – 12kms in 59mins. At T-mall in 1:12 – 15kms and get into Industrial Area and then the sun came out! My cap comes in handy and the wind is also heaven sent. Join Lunga lunga road 21kms in 1:40. The previous nights rains have messed the dirt roads a bit but it’s still manageable. Clear 25kms in 1:59 – a second sub 2hrs in 25kms this year so I should be working on 26kms going forward.

Step by step.

Realize how long a kilometer can be after the 27^th kilometer, maybe it’s a psychological thing – I start running with the heart and resolve to add an extra kilometer after the 28 kilometers I pulled last Sunday. I cruise past my stoppage point and venture into new territories. Clear Manyanja Road and join Kangundo road completely out of air. I hang on until the last 29^th kilometer and make an abrupt stop gasping and dehydrated – I doubt whether I will ever get into the habit of carrying water during my runs. I am glad that I never went below 5mins in any other kilometer besides the 2kms of Upper Hill climb. That is a job for another day. Now my focus shifts to pulling a 2:20 in 30kms next Sunday. My psychological preparation begins today – to rest my feet for the next three days for some serious performance. Keep Running!

Kilometer	Time	Change	Avg Pace
1	4:58	--	4'58"/km
2	9:53	- 0:03 (1%)	4'55"/km
3	14:38	- 0:10 (3%)	4'45"/km
4	19:18	- 0:05 (1%)	4'40"/km
5	23:53	- 0:05 (1%)	4'35"/km
6	28:36	+ 0:08 (-3%)	4'43"/km
7	33:23	+ 0:04 (-2%)	4'47"/km
8	38:07	- 0:03 (1%)	4'44"/km
9	43:04	+ 0:13 (-5%)	4'57"/km
10	47:54	- 0:07 (2%)	4'50"/km
11	53:30	+ 0:46 (-16%)	5'36"/km
12	58:42	- 0:24 (7%)	5'12"/km
13	1:03:38	- 0:16 (5%)	4'56"/km
14 *Fastest	1:07:46	- 0:48 (16%)	4'08"/km
15	1:12:23	+ 0:29 (-12%)	4'37"/km
16	1:17:02	+ 0:02 (-1%)	4'39"/km
17	1:21:42	+ 0:01 (-1%)	4'40"/km
18	1:26:37	+ 0:15 (-6%)	4'55"/km
19	1:31:21	- 0:11 (3%)	4'44"/km
20	1:36:05	+ 0:00 (0%)	4'44"/km
21	1:40:46	- 0:03 (1%)	4'41"/km
22	1:45:32	+ 0:05 (-2%)	4'46"/km
23	1:50:11	- 0:07 (2%)	4'39"/km
24	1:55:00	+ 0:10 (-4%)	4'49"/km
25	1:59:52	+ 0:03 (-2%)	4'52"/km
26	2:04:40	- 0:04 (1%)	4'48"/km
27	2:09:26	- 0:02 (0%)	4'46"/km
28	2:14:09	- 0:03 (1%)	4'43"/km
29	2:19:02	+ 0:10 (-4%)	4'53"/km