No Scents

I think I discovered the most annoying smell in the world this morning. I was going to say the worst smell in the world, but I have had kids in nappies and so I know that would be a lie.

I was 10km into my run when I must have gone past a bakery or a cafe or something who I swear was baking donuts (do you bake donuts? I think they are more fried. Anyway, you get the point). I think it would be a close run thing between running past cooking donuts and running past cooking bacon as the most annoying smells to encounter while exercising. It was distracting to say the least.

Other than being diverted by smells the rest of the run went quite well though. As I mentioned yesterday it was 25km, but rather than the usual easy cruise, this had a few bursts of intensity in it. Nothing insane, just every third kilometer coming up in speed a little. The bursts of intensity had the effect of lifting the overall pace of the run quite a bit though. To the point that I think it is the quickest 20+km run I have done for a while. Still nothing earth igniting, but a good session out, particularly given that the remaining two thirds of the run were pretty cruisy.

Nice time to be out and about though. The session was another of those early morning ones where it feels like the world is yours alone. Interestingly there were more people out and about early this morning than on the weekends (I guess people have work to get to during the week) but still the world was a fairly quiet place for the first half of the run. There is a bit on my normal run route that follows a path behind the dunes of South Beach in Fremantle. The path is a couple of unlit kilometers away from any roads. Dark is a word for it. Empty too. Always quite surreal running along there. On really dark morning it feels like you are disappearing down a tunnel. If I was alone and female I think it would be a place to avoid, but I find that I kind of like it. A couple of kilometers of being totally solo. Just running.

Since I finished the run I have been feeling a little scratchy. Not sick scratchy, just more not recovered properly. I have spent most of the day wondering if I am perhaps pushing too hard in training, but this afternoon I realised that I hadn't adequately rehydrated post run. I had a busy morning and so kept getting distracted. I have since drunk a bunch of water and am feeling much more human now. I also forgot to take any fuel with me on the run, which might have been a factor too. Still feeling a bit tired, but that is more in a 'It is Thursday and it has been a solid week of training up until this point' sort of way rather than anything more sinister.

I have a bit of travel for work coming up next week which will mean having a few days without training. It is a break I think that my body is ready for. In a way it will almost be an enforced recovery week. With the break coming up though I am keen to keep pushing for the rest of this week. Get in the quality training while I can. So whilst I am feeling a bit fatigued, the intention is to try and recover as much as I can and push through.

Swimming in the morning. Swim Smooth Threshold session. If there is fatigue, this session will find it.