30 Minutes

The weather today is gorgeous: clear, bright blue skies, low humidity, temperatures in the 60s and low 70s. When I ran this morning, the temperature was probably in the lower 60s. It has been, in short, a great day for a run.

I slept well last night. I awoke around 7:45, ate a bagel and cream cheese and drank my coffee. A little later, I headed for Forbidden Drive. Having had more rest than yesterday, I decided to try to run 30 minutes continuously. If it didn’t seem like I’d make it, I’d break up the run. I began at a slow, steady pace, and, after a bit, sped up slightly. Overall, today’s pace was more like a slow or perhaps moderate trot, but I believed that was what was going to be necessary if I was to run the full half-hour.

I arrived at the Covered Bridge, the usual half-way point of my runs along the portion of Forbidden Drive I run most frequently, and my watch read 15:01. So I turned around and ran all the way back.

I felt good throughout the entire run. Admittedly, I did not go too fast, nor did I get my heart rate above 130.  For the first half, my heart rate gradually inched up from around 105, settling in the range of 120-125 beats per minute after about twenty minutes.  But that’s okay: the goal today was to run 30 minutes continuously, and I didn’t want to exhaust myself before the end.

So what’s next? Well, I plan to keep going with the 30-minute continuous run for a while. Tomorrow I’ll rest, but Tuesday I’ll run again. Wednesday, I think I’m going to try a more hilly part of Forbidden Drive: I’ve been wanting to integrate hills into my run for a while, so maybe now is the time to do so. That, I think, will also be consistent with my tendency to push myself gently.