May 2010

May was, by my own modest standards, a reasonably productive month. Six runs totalling just over 41 kilometres and about four and a quarter hours on my feet — which sounds more impressive when you don't divide it out and realise that's barely more than an hour a week. The average pace of 6:11 per kilometre tells its own story (comfortable, let's say, rather than competitive), though I did manage four personal records along the way, which suggests either genuine improvement or that I hadn't been trying very hard previously. The Morning Run sessions were the backbone of it all, and there's something about getting out before the world wakes up in May, when it's actually light and not actively trying to kill you with cold, that makes the whole thing feel almost enjoyable.

Compared to April, which produced just two runs and a fairly embarrassing 13.8 kilometres, May was a significant step up — three times the distance and three times the outings, which is the kind of maths I can feel good about. April's numbers were, frankly, the numbers of someone who had given running a brief, hopeful look and then thought better of it, though at least the pace was sharper at 5:48 per kilometre (clearly I was trying harder when I went out less). So the warmer mornings and longer days in May seem to have done their job of prising me off the sofa, and if I can keep building on six runs a month into June, something resembling actual fitness might not be entirely out of the question.

Summary generated by Claude