Come back trail - Checkpoint 1

 4th October 2011 - Run to work 7 miles including a Test run of 2.2 miles. (That was the plan in my running diary)

 It's easy writing down races and training plans but when the big day comes that's when it all changes and the task ahead suddenly seems very daunting. Which is exactly how it was this morning, the first one and half miles were treated as a warm up and a time to build up the fear and dread of the pain I was about to inflict on myself, thoughts of not achieving my expectations at this stage in my training blocked out any positive thoughts I might have had  harboured somewhere deep inside. I arrived at checkpoint one, there was no hanging around and I instantly started the test run whilst hitting the start button on my stop watch after just a few strides I checked the watch and saw 00:00:02, excellent the watch was in motion and working. ( Learn by your mistakes, a few times in the past I have finished test runs and realised I must not of started my watch properly, funny now but heartbreaking then.) My test run took me straight up an hill so I tried to balance how easy those few hundred metres are and the effort that is required for the ascent, oops ! A slight misjudgement left me gasping for oxygen and a slight dip in speed and  then it was a case of trying to balance on that knife edge between how fast I could go without the need for any slight recovery dips and a reduction in speed. As the test was only just over two miles the devil on my shoulder drove me onwards and faster than what was manageable and unfortunately I had to take the recovery dips but at least I knew I would finish the run with nothing left in the tank. As checkpoint 2 also known as the finishing line appeared in the distance  I had a  mixed bag of feelings between wanting to go quicker, feeling sick, needing oxygen and I wondering what time I was going to do ? 00:11:59 Yes I'll take that ! was my first thought, it was 30 seconds quicker than what I achieved 4 weeks ago  and proves I'm heading in the right direction. I reckon I need to loose around another 15 seconds per mile on the test run which is a lot easier said than done but if I manage that then I will be back in 32 minute 10k territory and that is where I need to be.
 The more dread, fear and thinking of injury excuses their is before a test run / race then the better I seem to perform.