I know a traditional Chinese curse that translates to “May you live in interesting times.”

This morning’s run was interesting. And I am unsure if that is good or bad — it is only interesting.

I thought I had a 45-minute easy run to complete today — which is what my workout’s description was. However, when I started the session on my watch, it displayed as an hour session. I messaged Jateen, but because I still had to shower and get ready for work after my run, I decided to start running before he sent feedback on whether it should be 45 minutes or an hour. My expected average pace for today’s workout was also quite fast for an easy run: 8:15. I’d love to run comfortably at 8:15, but I am not there yet.

Because I was unsure of the duration and pace, I decided to return to basics and run my usual route heart rate-based. Four years ago, running according to my heart rate meant not allowing my heart rate to drop below a certain threshold. Now that I am a bit wiser, I realise that I should also not push my heart rate up too much — not if I aim to complete an easy run.

I guess I determined my own workout goals today.

I aimed to remain within the aerobic heart rate zone. The uphills elevated my heart rate too much, and, at times, I had to slow down considerably even though I felt I could continue running. If I ran pace-based, I wouldn’t have slowed down then. I also think that I could’ve run downhill quicker. There were times when my heart rate dropped too low, but I couldn’t seem to elevate it despite going faster. Perhaps I should’ve pushed even harder.

All-in-all I enjoyed today’s run. But did I enjoy it because I’ve been feeling a bit better these past few days or because I got to run in a fashion that feels familiar to me? I think running heart rate-based might be a tactic to consider for my easy runs. But would it be an effective tactic if my goal is to run faster?

I completed today’s run at an average pace of only 9:29.