First Run

A perfect run to start the year. Twenty kilometers of flat, wide trail. I set out a little after 8:00, which is when the sun came up. That's earlier than I usually run, but I wanted to be back early enough that I would not to keep my family waiting for our traditional Japanese New Year's breakfast (fortunately, they are not early risers).

I wanted to stick between a 5:30 and 5:40/km pace: easy but not sloppy, heart rate at a little under 70% of maximum. I did it with an average pace of 5:29, with my fastest km at 5:20 and my slowest at 5:36. My average heart rate was exactly 70%. So I erred very slightly on the fast side. That's the best way to err.

The whole thing was very quiet and comfortable. There were virtually no cars on New Years Morning, so I never had to stop at any of the road crossings. I saw three other runners, a handful of cyclists and few dog walkers.

Ten years or so back, when I was still a drinking man, the idea of heading out for a two hour run at first light on New Years Day would have seemed ridiculous, or impossible. I'm so glad I'm not that man anymore.