Recovery time

I've been really careful over the last few days to allow my tired muscles to recover before another run. I've walked a fair few miles, but that's just normal life. Last night was swimming which doesn't seem to trouble the same joints and muscles as running. By today I couldn't feel any calf pain, so I went for a 12km road loop. There was the usual stiff, slow start but gradually I gained my pace. Abbeydale Road had a headwind as so often is the case but after that all went well. Indeed, better than well as I knocked a few seconds off the whole loop and gained a 10km best, also by a few seconds (just over 49 minutes). The improvement was subtle but I interpret this as meaning that I was recovered. Every few seconds reduced also implies that my performance hasn't yet reached a plateau.