Sweet Soul Music

Day:         68

Distance: 7.5km

Time:       45:54 secs

Calories:  578

Friday morning begins with a 45 minute run at an 'easy' tempo. For the past few weeks I've been using the National to soundtrack these runs, but today I decide to take a gamble on a different album. Since catching Adele's mesmerising performance on "Later with Jools Holland" a few months back I've really got into her music. It's not what I typically listen to, but I love music with soul and as her latest album "21" is full to the brim with slow, soulful numbers I had a feeling it might work well.

How right I was. From the opening tune "Rolling in the Deep" to the album closer "Someone like you" this collection worked perfectly by setting a wonderful soundscape for an early morning run through quiet London streets.

The stats on Run Keeper show how slow and steady this run was with an average pace of 6:07 mins/km. The fastest kilometre was covered in 6:01 mins/km, while the slowest only took another 16 seconds. Like "High Violet" by the National this album is exactly what I need for a run like this. It doesn't replace the National, but it does now mean I have some choice over what I want to listen to for the next 45 minute run at an 'easy' tempo.

In other news, I've been sitting here for the last hour trying to sort out a route for tomorrow's long run. The training guide says I should be running for 160 mins which I reckon is something like 31km in total. I'm half tempted to use the route from last week with 2 kilometres tacked on for good measure as that requires the least amount of work. However, there's also part of me that wants to continue and expand the sightseeing aspect of the long runs I've been doing recently. I've really enjoyed taking in the sights and taking a few photos whilst doing so. There's so much to see in London that it would seem a shame to miss out on some of it just for the sake of making it easier for myself.