Building Endurance

I've been doing some longish runs (for me that is 15km+) recently and have noticed my average pace is quite similar (4:55-5:05min/km). That's a pretty comfortable pace and I'm noticed a couple of things:

i) My calves aren't as tight as if I'm running "fast" as in a 10km race. Rather I'm feeling it more in the quadriceps - however I feel pretty good as in could run again tomorrow.
ii) Not fading near the end I did in my first half marathon so the pace is more consistent throughout.

However I probably need to mix it up a bit - i.e. a shorter tempo run here and there - to also work on speed.

Today I had the day off work - attending a few personal errands - and fit in a 16.4km run (1:23:30, 5:05min/km) which I call Long One Tree Hill Expedition. One Tree Hill has some of the best open spaces to run in round Auckland - it's brilliant. The hill is tough work but its good to get to the top!


Photo by Seamoor. This shot doesn't do it justice - already about 1/3 the way up!

I enjoyed today's run as a stress release - work has been a bit tense recently so a great opportunity to zone out. That's probably one of the things I like most about running. I know its a cliche but hey it works!

Still waiting on the endorphins (aka "runner's high") to kick in though ;)