Concrete Hopscotch

Landmark session today - 8k - 34:15

Not Re the time but with what the workout told me about what I am capable of.

Really happy with the run - just went out & performed well.

Originally gauged it to be a 10k but I decided to cut it short as it was getting late.

The key thing this time was I focused on my breathing.

It made a huge difference.

The cycle the previous day did so much for me - it's quite unbelieveable!

Here are the Splits:

TC1 2:20

TC2 3:!5

TC3 5:05

TC4 6:50

TC5 7:25

TC6 8:05

TC7 10:02!! (I used to be 10:30!!) 

TC8 11:45

TC9 12:45 (finally under 13 mins - I always know I am having a good run if <13 mins here)

TC10 15:35 (normally 16:00)

TC11 17:07 (usually sub 18 I am happy with - 17:30 I see as an achievement so to see sub 17:10 here - happy days!!)

TC12 20:51 (excellent - sub 21 here is always good) 

TC13 25:15 (Again sub 26 here is the usual aim & this is good as I was laboring at this point really & had lost control of my form & my breathing + wanted to stop et al) 

TC14 26:40 (sub 27 is the general aim - once saw a 27:03 so this is new territory too & I was beginning to suffer at this point) 

TC15 29:30 (actually not that impressive - usually sub 30 is good here but just 30 secs off I was disappointed considering how well all the other splits had gone etc - regardless I was (or what I perceive to be) hurting coming down that road where I should have been bombing it instead (I took my foot off the gas - that's where running with a group can be helpful though I do prefer running on my own really - I always have - that's what makes road races special...) - once I can reach 28 mins at this point I'll be happy - I will reach sub 29 here with relative ease soon & will get to sub 28 with some slight modifications with my training over the coming few months - I won't need to make major changes really - then eventually I will reach a point where I will plateau & will only be able to get faster with bigger weekly mileage.)

TC16 33:15 

& home in 60 secs later - at that point it is easy to swing round & make a 10k out of it but nah - I went on an all out sprint the last 15 or so seconds - the other 45 secs I lifted the pace but didn't really start hurting till I decided to really go for the line (I do rarely do this to be fair & I should practice this more really!!! 

The key here with me & my training is targeted sessions - I seem to respond best to these... go for a 10k run tues & thurs doesn't seem to do much for me - I like to have a specific goal for each session. The mileage doesn't need to go beyond 15 miles a week (8k run, 4 mile (grass) run then 10k on Sundays - that type of thing ) with 2 cycle days to keep the lungs pumping hard. Incorporate the sprint training - every 2-3 weeks change out the 8k for this session &/or just have the 5k all out session also with 3k recovery at the end. Lets do this for 6 weeks then see where I am then.

I heavily suspect I can get down to 32 min for 8k with this approach alone.

Then I can consider maybe lifting the mileage slightly either on the bike or foot to say 20-25 miles. I just know from history that I do not (seem to) respond well to higher mileage training - my body just cannot take the impact.

The biggest thing is getting used to the discomfort of running harder than I would intuitively & having the desire for this level of intensity - then it's about being able to bash it out to the finish line & being able to lift the pace significantly inside the last 2k (especially in the last mile etc) so the others cannot live with your pace as it were... 

I think I have hit a landmark workout today though. 

I really focused on the breathing (from the cycle last night) & put this into practice & boy oh boy did it work out or what!!!

Good times, literally!