recovery..

6m at 7:00 average. started off at around 7:00, but dropped back to 7:10ish by 3m in, as i was feeling a bit drained. but at 5m, on the downhill to the bottom of Hyde Park from Speaker's Corner, i picked it up and tried to maintain the just-sub-6:00 pace i'll need in the 10k to make 36min. i felt a little better at that point and thought it would be a good test of endurance and stamina to see whether i could maintain that pace for about half a mile or so. it went ok, and i found i could stay up there with a little higher heart rate and concerted breathing. weather is still good; a little more overcast - and it rained a bit last night. the tree pollen is still very high though - i could even see as a haze across the open spaces in the park. hopefully it'll die down soon.

what was apparent during that fast-paced section was the importance of form. i've been practicing the mid-foot strike and higher backlift, as well as slightly tilting my torso forward, off and on for a while now. i'd tried it earlier in the run today and noticed again how it immediately focuses one's effort and momentum - and makes you run faster. later on in the faster section, i tried this style again, and noticed the benefits immediately. will definitely have to work on incorporating this style-change into all forms of training in the coming weeks..

today was meant to be some fartlek or intervals or pyramid training. but Tuesday's hard run plus last night's football game have taken their tool, and i didn't feel up to it. i stick with the 'trust your body' mantra now, so i decided to just take the usual course around Hyde Park and run it at a decent enough pace. football was again disappointing, and i'm seriously wondering whether to keep going. will definitely enquire at the local athletic club when we get back off holiday..