My training continues apace, and the curious thing I'm finding is that among with the 'good' runs and progress, I seem to be having a few 'bad' runs at the moment, more so than when I started this training 11 weeks ago. I'm able to look at them with a positive mindset, however, and see them as a learning opportunity, rather than an opportunity to beat myself over the head. That's new!! ;-)
I learn something about my running almost every time I go out - be it the different ways I perform depending on what I've been eating, or the levels to which I am surprisingly able to push myself. I think this is important - I'm pretty sure even the world's elite still have things to learn when they run, so a newbie plodder like myself can feel in good company, haha. I still call myself a newbie, even though I first started running over 3 years ago now, because my mind wasn't ready for me to run, and I feel a lot of those first few years were spent figuring myself out a bit, not believing in myself, and rarely running more than a mile or so before walking. For years. This year is where things started to change, and I feel like it's a starting point in so many different ways.
After a tough parkrun on Saturday (nutrition issues, as well as the heat), I struggled with running in the heat on Sunday, for a run that was supposed to be 7 mile easy pace with a pick-up in the middle. I don't think I'm built for running in the heat, haha - still too many layers of natural insulation! But also, I'd got out a bit later than planned, after a poor sleep interrupted by noisy drunken neighbours. Learned some lessons, and surprised myself with my pace anyway - and Sunday's run took me to 215 miles ran in the last 11 weeks! Me!!
After a rest day, today was my weekly speed session, and a 'simple' (i.e. owwwww) enough one at that: Interval repeats – shorter ones than I’ve been doing recently, but faster. Instructions were 1km warm-up, 3 x (0.5km fast, 0.5km easy), 1km cool-down. My ‘fast’ pace zone is 9:00 to 9:30 /mi, and my ‘easy’ pace zone is 11:45 to 12:15... Here’s what I did:
1km – 11:43 pace
0.5km – 8:54 pace
0.5km – 11:54 pace
0.5km – 8:57 pace
0.5km – 12:07 pace
0.5km – 8:46 pace
0.5km – 12:19 pace
1km – 11:54 pace
(dead)
All three 0.5km intervals at sub-9 minute mile pace!! Into a headwind, too. I was absolutely shattered after the third interval, and struggled to keep running through a recovery interval into the cooldown, but I managed. Overall, did 5km in 34:14, which I feel is pretty awesome when you think that 3.5kms of that was purposely at ‘easy’ pace! ;-) My heart rate reached 200 during the last fast interval, by the end of the cool-down it was around 170, and after just TEN minutes of sitting in the car when I was done, my heart rate was 80!! I can't help but be proud of my progress, and it definitely motivates me to continue - albeit I struggled with going to work this morning instead of having a nice lie-down, haha.
No photos from Sunday or this morning, lol, because you'd worry there was something wrong with the colour on your screen. Let's just say my position as Queen of the Lobster-Faced People is under no risk, haha. x x
Onwards and upwards.
Fastest interval was your last one, no wonder you found it tough, but that's very encouraging though, shows that you are developing a good appreciation of how your body responds at different paces and how to manage pace. This isn't just going out for a plod, this proper running training, developing not only fitness but different skills that you didn't have before.
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