Day 2 run - To the river and back Distance and time: 5k and just over 27 minutes

This run was done after procrasinating for over an hour. YouTube can be the bane of my existance. After dinner, I waste almost an hour watching bloody stupid videos in what started as a search around a political event in Canada. An hour later I say aloud, "Seriously, I have to get going." Gear on and out the door around 8PM that night.

The first thing I notice that it is still very windy out. My chosen route wasn't particularly hilly to start so I felt assured that this was doable. The first section of the run is about 500 metres of a rise that is followed by 500 metres of a slight downhill. Nice start for a run, I'm labouring though as this the evening when I have a lot lower energy levels at this time of the day. I trudge on through the next 500 metre section and head for a gravel path towards the mighty Sheep River.

This section is the beautiful with trees budding and leafing out. The smell of grass, still pushed along by a 20 km/h wind, is ever-present. The wind is odd as regardless of which direction I was running it seems to be in my face. I chalk this up to perception and not reality.

I reach the river edge along the path and stop for a quick look and dealing with my alergic reaction to something in the air. After a 30 to 60 second break, I start again for the last half towards home. To get back home on the chosen path, I have to run down a dirt path to gravel path to a paved path. It leads me through a small subdivision and paths that snake in and around houses. I wave at the house of folks I know in the area without looking closely if they are even there.

Getting through the subdivision leaves me with the last remaining challenge of this run - a 250 metre significantly graded hill. I make it up the hill, but I admit that I was constantly negotiating with myself as to when I would stop to catch my breath. Reaching the top, I break the deal I made with my brain and continue to run after cresting the hill. It's about a kilometre to get back home and most of it was downhill. I still perceive that I'm labouring and have no idea how fast I'm running.

As round the final corner, I decide to pick up speed as I have about 200 metre flat surface to run across. Reaching the end of that length, I'm at 5k and feel like I can stop. I stop the watch, and given that I don't have my glasses on, can't really see what my average pace is. Still breathing hard for the next 100 metres of walking and then I feel like I'm headed back to the resting heart rate. Once inside I find out that my pace was 5'24"/k. Mercy, that's a on the quicker side for me. I consider that success and move on to the snack and hydration phase.

Run review: Laboured but again satisfying