Same but Different.

  I thought I would try something same but different with today's speed training session. Over the last ten weeks I have done the same interval session three times which is completed over five miles and consists of 3 minutes at maximum effort and 1 minute jog recovery continually. My aim each time is to try and get further after each 3 minute effort than before which results in me also finnishing the five mile distance quicker. Last week I only went and forgot my stop watch so I ended up guessing  checkpoints instead and to be honest as much as I hate to admit it I put in a right lack lustre of a performance. With no accurate timings and distances to chase I felt it was all for nothing and just couldn't motivate myself to get stuck in and give it everything. This week I thought I would make amends and teach myself a lesson not to be so forgetful and more importantly not to be so weak.
  This time my plan was to run a steady 8 miles before the 5 mile speed training session and finish off with an easy mile back home. The steady 8 miles went well though it was a touch warm as I had my showerproof jacket on because it had been raining all day, once again the good old British weather had tricked me as it had turned out to be a rather pleasent evening. Why on earth I didn't remove my jacket before starting the intervals is a complete mystery, well that's not true as it was just bone idleness and I couldn't be bothered to stop. The intervals went according to plan and I was slightly up distance wise after each 3 minute interval, just like racing I set off way too hard then gradually suffer more and more and end up going slower and slower until the time I finish. On the penultimate interval my legs started to feel heavy and tired as if I had just run a marathon which is what I was hoping for and luckily my last effort would be reduced as I would cross the 5 mile mark before the 3 minutes was up. Thankfully my last effort was just over a minute long and downhill at that. This time I had completed the 5 miles  21 seconds quicker than before. The jacket soon came off after that and the last easy mile jog home took some doing with smashed in legs muscles, oh the joys of running.
   It must be four years since I have done any training sessions like that or even thought about doing anything like that, a 10 mile race or even a half marathon doesn't seem so daunting now.
   The 7 mile run that I had pencilled in for the morning has been well and truly rubbed out, I will be lucky if I'm walking tomorrow never mind running.