Tuesday Slug Fest

Run type: steady aerobic, target HR 140-145.
distance: 16.2 km
Time: 1:18:12
Average pace: 4:50
Cumulative weekly km: 16.2

Ah, Tuesdays. The day after the rest day, which is the day after the long run. So Tuesday. Getting the legs turning over again. Sometimes I can feel so fresh on Tuesdays that I marvel at my recuperative qualities. Other times I feel like I've been hit by a bus. Today was a bus day.

It wasn't too hot, maybe 25 degrees. Storms last night but still so blinking humid. Woke a few minutes before 5:00 am by a cacophony of sirens attending some unseen emergency somewhere not far away. The mornings are becoming gloomier. Got out the door and on the road by 5:20. Immediately aware of a strong tightness in my upper hamstrings. Ran gingerly for one km in 5min 40 sec. Second km in about 5:10. Stopped and did some calf and hammie stretches. Took off and felt no better. The tightness seemed higher than my hamstrings. Oh well, nothing for it but to keep running.

Just after I hit the Park I saw a Japanese toad in the middle of the track. I ran past him at first, but knew some dunderhead would tread on him, so I went back and put the little fella off in some bushes.

Eventually warmed into the run and had the heart rate going at about 140. The aim was to be in the vicinity of about 140 to 145. In the end, I suppose I was pretty successful at that, but there was some solid creep up over 145 on the fourth lap of Komazawa, just before I had to stop and let some little brown monkeys out the back door. Forgot to tape my nipples and had some mince production happening on Nipple #2 (that would be the right one), so singlet went up and over my head, as if I was on the skins team.

Steady run home at heart rate of 143 to 146 in 18:41 (4:55/km).

All in all I got done what I had to get done, but it felt harder than it should have. Certainly harder than the same run last week. Maybe still some residual fatigue from Sunday.