1st
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 27th 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 29th
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 |
