I'm a 7 minute per km runner... and I'm ok with that

Lately I've been kind of stepping off constantly checking my watch to see my pace and a lot of the reason why this is the case happens to be because I think my smart-watch is reaching EOL (end of life). It doesn't hold a charge for very long anymore and I am just too stingy to go and buy another one. I feel like these things should last longer than 18 months and am kind of pissed that this thing on my arm is no longer reliable.

src

i'm nowhere near as old as the dude in the picture there, but I am not a young buck anymore. I am also quite large but thankfully not in a fat way anymore. I have rather large legs and a generally larger-than-average torso so me being as fast as the wind just isn't very likely.

I do enjoy the fact that I looked up the other day about how a very small percentage of the global population is capable of running at any pace for 5km in a row without stopping and for me, these length of runs, even in intense heat, don't really pose that much of a difficulty arc for me.

But I have kind of accepted the fact that I am not going to be a super fast runner and while I would like to be bit faster because I want to break the 30 minute 5k threshhold that so many people aim for, I am kind of accepting of the fact that if I want to run every day, and I do, that I can't really go that fast.

This is an easy run for me that I did yesterday and the last km doesn't really count because I just forgot to turn my timer off. I'm just over 7 mins per km, a far cry from 6.

I'm not being lazy by saying that I don't aspire to do 6 mins per km, I'm just being realistic because for me, I prefer to do the run LONGER rather than faster.

I have in the past come quite close to getting 6mins per km, but I paid the price after the run and sometimes even the following day. When I run at 7 mins / km I feel fine immediately afterwards and other than a slight pain in my right foot that is likely because I wear cheap shoes, I don't have any bad after effects.

I'm no longer watching my heart rate either but I did have a look into the stats over time and found that at a relaxed pace, my time spent in zone 4 has lowered over time. Without trying, I have seen more of my relaxed feeling run time keeping me in zone 3. This is something I really like to see because in the past when I spend more time in zone 4, i get more fatigued. I'm sure this is quite normal with everyone and it is just how the human body works.

This must mean that my cardio is improving and I don't ever mind going for a run like other people who punish themselves out there probably tend to. This has always been my little secret I suppose, don't set yourself up to fail by attempting things that are going to seriously tax you. I will try harder during group events a couple times a year, but as far as day to day exercise is concerned I don't want to take on something that is going to make me consider just staying on the sofa instead of hurting myself.

It works for me, and at the moment I am approaching 80kg of body weight for the first time in my life since I was in my 20's. I'm also considerably more muscular now than I was at that point in my life so I see this as a win.