The Offseason

I have been away from it all from a while. Away from running, diet, work and other stresses. I have just returned from two weeks in Thailand with the family and after enjoying the break and the food I have decided that it is time to get back into it. The extra pounds I have also put on hear my body crying out for me to quit this offseason hedonism.

I started running again yesterday. Well actually that statement is not entirely true as I was forced to run to work yesterday as my stepson had borrowed the car while I was away on the weekend and drove several hours away to spend some time with some friends while he is over here on holidays from the UK.

The running felt OK but the heat was something I wasn't expecting and about 30 minutes into the run I was overheating. I also decided to wear the polar to see how my heartrate responded. Well it looks like I have some work to do as my HR drifted up to around 185bpm and sat there until I decided to walk to allow it to drop back down to a more acceptable 150bpm.

I just checked my Garmin and it is evident where I went wrong. The kilometre splits started out at 4:30 pace before dropping to 4:15 and then I followed it up with another two kilometres at sub 4:00 pace. Strangely this happens whenever I start back running as my legs are refreshed, refuelled and free of the usual niggles and fatigue that they are plagued with from the repeated abuse they receive.

Gradually after a few weeks building the volume back up my pace gradually goes back to a more sustainable pace and the HR drops.

Post-run my legs feel completely toasted and it took several hours before I could walk without discomfort. I'm not a fan of the transition period as my legs and body become reacquainted with their friends the road, pavements and trails.