For day 14, I planned to run 8km. My average pace was 7'02" and it took me 56:18 minutes.
Here is my average pace, increase/decrease in speed and elevation per kilometer:
1 KM - average pace was 6'18", elevation of 8m
2 KM - average pace was 6'42", increase speed of +0'24", elevation of -8m
3 KM - average pace was 7'11", increase speed of +0'29", elevation of 21m
4 KM - average pace was 7'10", decrease speed of -0'01", elevation of -21m
5 KM - average pace was 7'40", increase speed of +0'30", elevation of 22m
6 KM - average pace was 7'05", decrease speed of -0'35", elevation of -19m
7 KM - average pace was 7'15", increase speed of +0'10", elevation of 1m
8 KM - average pace was 6'51", decrease speed of -0'24", elevation of -1m
During today's run, I felt more energized. I was quite tired yesterday and fell asleep early, so last night I slept for a full 10 hours. This could have played a role in helping me feel more energized during today’s run. In terms of food, I ate chicken breast with rice and some vegetables. This meal made me feel full and satisfied, it didn’t seem to have a big impact on my running, it gave me energy, and there weren’t any problems (in terms of digestion).
As said in my last post for 6km, I was feeling as if I had sprained my right ankle. However, it only hurts towards the end of the run (this has happened a couple of times). Whilst running 8km today, around the 4km mark, I start to feel as if I had pins-and-needles in my left foot, and as if I had sprained my ankle in my right foot (same feeling as before). I was focused on finishing the 8km, so I ignored the pain and pushed through. After the run, I decided to find out why I was feeling these things.
I found that stiff, tense shoulders and arms while running exert unneeded energy and increase blood flow to the upper body, reducing blood flow to the legs. Insufficient blood flow causes numbness and pins-and-needles sensations in the feet and lower legs. I also found that strains and sprains and usually the most common reasons your ankles hurt when running. An ankle sprain happens when a muscle or tendon is overstretched or torn, whereas an ankle sprain is the same injury that affects a ligament.
To prevent these things from happening again during my next run, I am going to spend more time stretching every day and spend more time warming up before my run. I also tend to try to fix my posture by straightening my back when I run, this could be me tensing my shoulders, for my next run I will be more relaxed.
