Headed out late morning for a steady 4 or 5 miler with no major intentions except for logging a few more base miles. The weather was great – crisp, but breezy – and made for a nice run in pleasant conditions. My main focus was on tomorrow’s 12-14 miles tomorrow morning, so today was just about getting a few miles in to boost my weekly total.
Anyway, the first mile was great with a 10mph tailwind (always good to start a run with a tailwind!), and felt easier than the 7:26/mile pace suggested. I’d decided to wear my new Sennheiser headphones paired with my iPod Shuffle, and somewhere early in the second mile one of my favorite running songs came on: Going Underground by The Jam – a 1980 classic! It’s got one of those beats that you can’t help but run fast too, and it really got me moving – second mile in 6:46.
Sometimes all it takes is a quick mile to completely change a workout, and that’s what happened this morning. I challenged myself to run the remaining three miles progressively faster, so with that thought in my mind, I set off on mile 3.
The wind shifted slightly which meant I was now running into a strong crosswind. It was a struggle to maintain my pace but I just managed to clock a 6:45 mile – one second quicker than mile 2! Not one to give up easily, I shortened my stride length, quickened my cadence and brought my upper body into action. Mile 4 was a quicker 6:25 and my heart rate had climbed to 164 beats per minute.
Just one more fast mile and I could relax and “jog” home. Unluckily for me, the last mile was yet again against the wind. It took a huge effort to increase my pace and maintain good form, but before I knew it my Garmin was beeping to let me know another mile had been completed – this one in 6 minutes 15 seconds, the fastest of my run. Mission accomplished! Now I could relax and jog the remaining half mile to the house….
So all in all, another enjoyable workout with things seeming to develop nicely. My form is coming back, I’ve lost a couple of those Holiday pounds and I’m looking forward to every workout with renewed vigor! Long run day tomorrow and then another solid week before the first Cross Country race of 2008 – the Mud In Your Eye 5k!
Oh yes, I just completed the first workout in Week 4 of the Essential Abs program – I’m even motivated to increase my core strength 🙂 Things must be going well…
If I confused you with my reference to The Jam and Going Underground, click on the iTunes button for a quick preview to one of my favorite running songs. Enjoy!
I listened to the song on itunes hmmmnn, What are your new headphones like? I stepped on my headphones a couple of days ago and can’t decide which to buy, I was using the regular one that comes with the ipod, so I’m really looking forward to an upgrade
These are the ones I bought: http://tinyurl.com/yvsqmn
They’re actually a lot cheaper in the UK than they are here in the USA:
http://tinyurl.com/2w4waj
I really like them. The ones that came with my iPod come loose after less than a mile and it gets really frustrating trying to put them back in when I’m running.
I must have tried at least a dozen different pairs over the last couple of years and finally I’ve found some I’m happy with!
Keep up the good work with your running..
–Steve
Wow, great job, Steve!
Great song too. Lots of the currently popular bands (especially from the UK & Britain — i.e., The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Cinematics, Bloc Party, etc.) owe their sound to The Jam. 😉
Sounds like you know your stuff! Haven’t heard of The Cinematics – will have to check them out.
Thanks for the comment…
–Steve
You’re welcome for the recommendation. If you like any of the bands I mentioned above, you’ll probably like the Cinematics. Many of their songs have a very U2-influenced sound as well.
Sounds like you like a lot of the same 80’s bands that Erik & I do. 😉