Chilly half asleep easy run

Route: Three Locks canal route
Distance: 6.25 miles
Terrain: path
Ascent / descent: +31' / - 32 '
Total time: 00:51:51
SportTracks splits: 8:28, 8:16, 8:19, 8:33, 8:22, 7:59, 7:23 (fast last quarter mile)

Our baby daughter Eilidh has her first cold just now so sleep is virtually non-existent - she keeps waking up with her nose all clogged (aaww). Despite this I got up and went out for an early morning easy run on Wednesday morning then slowly began to fall asleep on the move. I don't really do early morning runs very well.

I live at the far SW corner of Milton Keynes and have easy access (5 min run) to the Grand Union canal which runs from somewhere up north all the way down to London. It is flat but very scenic with lots of ducks, swans, cranes and canal boats with lovely rolling agricultural land all about. Here's a photo of a section mid-way along this run route:

http://www.geograph.org.uk/browse.php?p=206306

Anyhoo, the run started off well although it was easily sub-zero temperature wise with bits of the canal freezing over. I ran along feeling fine then began to notice I was slowing down when I looked at the 205. Ooops falling asleep wake up Brian and I'd run a bit faster - my aim being to run between 8 min/mile and 8:30 min/mile. This kept happening all the way along the run despite the lovely foggy, crisp wintery scenery and air and the pair of cranes that were flying around. Definitely not an early morning runner me.

I got to work and had a meeting to attend off site later in the day which was a serious endurance battle to remain awake during.