I had a day off work so I managed to fit in a long run. It was more overcast than I hoped but it was dry and cool.

One of my targets for this year is to do more zone 2 training. I use the term “training” very loosely because I’m not a disciplined, scientific runner. I’ve never followed a training plan and most of my runs are at the same pace. I know this isn’t good so I’m determined to make more of an effort to think about what I’m doing.

The first six miles went really well, it was quite flat so I managed to stay in the right zone without much fluctuation. I hit an incline and my heart zone jumped into zone 3 and even though I slowed right down, it stubbornly refused to change. (I have a chest strap but I’m lazy and just use my watch so maybe this isn’t very responsive…)

I got bored and headed up into Fforest Fawr, which made it even harder to keep my heart rate consistent. Once I was slowly descending back down I managed to keep it level for the final few miles.

Despite my dislike for road running, I’m considering getting some new road shoes and doing some zone 2 runs on the Taff Trail to make it easier.