Diary of a Sub 40 Minute 10K #4

 There's not much to report this week since the injury I picked up last week Sunday (3 June) has been a thorn in my side (well, a stretched right hamstring) ever since.  I was dismayed to find that the injury felt worse for the next two days, and by Saturday, almost a week later, I went for a run again for the first time.  I found that the leg seemed fine running uphill, but felt increasingly tentative the more I increased my stride length - especially running downhill.  So, in order to safeguard myself I've been purposefully trying to keep my stride as short as possible.

I managed to get through Saturday's 12.5km run without injury, and then ran a very easy 6km the next day in icy conditions.  My last run was yesterday (Tuesday), once again in -4C or -5C.  The cold didn't bother me as much as the nagging discomfort in my hamstring - a tightness.  Worse, I feel like I've lost all my fitness.  Feel heavy, slow and tired.

Because of the increased discomfort on yesterday's 7km run, I was iffy about this morning's run.  Since my alarm didn't go off, it was probably just as well.
I'll probably head out again tomorrow, try to run a flat route.

Since there's not much to write about in terms of pace, HR etc, I'm going to draw your attention to some funky additions Nike have made to their NikePlus site.  Have a look at this:

 Interestingly the above stats are based on the past week, when I've definitely been sub par to my usual pattern, which bodes well ito comparing myself to my peers.

 The trick is going to be getting that 1km time down to 4 minutes and then lower still.  And that 5km time down to 20 minutes and less.  That's the only way to realistically achieve a Sub 40 minute 10K.

 It's interesting how my pace has dropped quite radically since March.  I think the reason is due to running further, and more regularly.  I expect the pace will level out from here on out. I'd like to extend time spent running off-road (middle icon) and also time spent running in daylight (right-hand icon).

As for the future, I'm gunning for a 10km race at Windmill Casino in early August.  I expect I'll use up the few remaining days in June recovering from this injury, and dedicate July to getting back on the ball - improving speed and stamina.  I'll try to get close to 47 minutes or 48 minutes on that run.  Let's see how it goes though.