Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
I have been struggling with my running pace. Good news: I finally beat my running target by one second today.
In summer, Nashville is hot. I felt this summer was hotter than last year. Since my brain stroke, I am no longer able to regulate my body temperature as a healthy adult. So, running in hot weather impacted my running.
It’s been nearly two weeks since my last successful attempt, so I was glad to see the heat wave break and give me a pleasantly cool morning for running. Apparently, my legs were happy about it too. I started at my fastest pace ever and quickly built a comfortable lead over my target.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm outpaced my endurance. By the second quarter kilometer, I had already lost about half my lead. During the next quarter kilometer, I lost half of what remained. At that rate, my beautiful lead seemed determined to disappear before the run had properly begun.
Fortunately, I stabilized my pace while I was still ahead of my target and held it for the rest of the run. As I approached the final quarter kilometer, I knew I couldn’t relax. I stayed focused and pushed through to the finish.
It’s a good thing I did. I beat my target by exactly one second. Not ten seconds. Not five. One.
After nearly two weeks without a successful run, I’ll happily take it. A one-second victory still counts. Hopefully, I can squeeze out another success later this week. The forecast looks promising, so at least the weather appears willing to cooperate.
Now I just need my legs to do the same. And perhaps next time they could give me a luxurious two-second margin.