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3k in 16:17

today was a big step up for me. i landed my best pace in my relatively recent running antics by a fair bit. i didn't feel exhausted. i didn't feel like i was pushing myself too hard. i didn't feel like my nose was conspiring against me. i managed to get my best time yet despite me being far from the only person to tread my usual route. i ran past ladies with antlers and gentlemen with tophats. and though i had to take a slight detour as to not squeeze my body through the extravagantly clad masses, the distance i ran ended up being only tens of meters off.

i went into today's run thinking i would have to fight hard to get a pace similar to my previous ones. the odds were thoroughly stacked against me. yesterday i woke up earlier than usual to attend a business trip which featured a bus driving past me that should've taken me to my destination, a series of presentations that, though informative, rapidly chewed away at my already dwindling attention span, a dinner in a begrudgingly posh restaurant which had me repeating grounding exercises over a pint of raspberry-flavored sparkly water, and a grand delay of half an hour on my train back home thanks to a bloke who was trying his hardest not to get kicked out because he refused to accept the reality that his ticket was, indeed, invalid. my only consolation was a free shot of homemade coffee liquor at a pub i was invited to late in the night. the absence of an alcoholic aftertaste frightened me, but i have to admit that it was one of the best homemade things i ever had at any venue.

i ended up hitting the sheets at two in the morning only to wake up four and a half hours later to attend my job. sleep deprivation and a trace of nausea painted my face. a loaded potato with fried halloumi cheese for lunch soaked up all remaining drowsy feelings and an ex-coworker brought in some cake in the afternoon. as for balanced meals, with the exception of quark for breakfast, i could've definitely sabotaged myself a little bit less knowing i was going to go out for a run no matter what.

regardless, after work i arrived at home, did my stretches, my warm-ups, and ran.

i doubt my time will impress any slightly experienced runner but given my terrible consistency when it comes to anything to do with sports, it's certainly something. my previous 3k's ended up with paces nearing six minutes per km, so today's time is definitely a cut above that. i'll have to wait and see if it was a one-off or some sort of breakthrough in the way i run. i have an armband now that i can stuff my phone into to track my times. tracking my progress in a meaningful way has become a whole lot more tangible. i wouldn't be surprised if simply wearing it made me more consistent. i do look like a "genuine" runner now. it's like putting fire decals on your car, or installing rgb strips in your pc: if it looks like it would make you faster, it most likely does.

mail: mybtm (at) proton (dot) me

coffee: ( ˘ ³˘)❤️☕️