Heading Back to Hagley

I learned from exploring the area the previous day that a quaint shopping area was to the right of our hotel. According to my standard, I always go out running in opposite directions each day. I think I have made it abundantly clear in this blog site that I don’t particularly like running in retail areas. Add to that I knew the south Island of New Zealand housed the country’s largest park, Hagley and it was to the left. I could not (or didn’t want to) resist the urge. I went back to Hagley Park. To appease my superstitious nature, I ran through a different part of the spacious green space.

A lovely run in Hagely Park turned into a strider workout (the runner jargon for this is “fartlek”, I hate that word). I cruised for two minutes and then ran race pace for one minute. Watching the time proved to be troublesome before daylight. The previous day’s memory of losing my shoe in the mud remained fresh in my mind. So, I used physical markers like passing poles, trees and bushes rather than actual minutes. This led to shorter rest intervals. It was a fun way to mix up exercise and increase the impact of morning exercise.

Left. Right. Slow. Fast. Run.

Tom