Great track session

Last night I finally made it out to one of Ian's Wednesday night track sessions...it was all Anne said it was!

The plan was to run 2 x 1000m at a pace of 5 seconds slower than 5k race pace, 3 x 800m at 5k race pace and finishing with 3 x 600m at a pace of 5 seconds faster than 5k race pace. We were to rest 2.5 minutes between each repeat.

Now because we were running inside my Garmin watch wouldn't be able to pick up a satellite and provide the right paces for me. So I'd have to rely on the times Ian set for me to complete each distance. For the 1000m repeats I would have to run them in 3 minutes and 59 seconds, the 800m in 3:07 and the 600m in 2:17.  

I had no idea if I could run those distances in the times allotted or how I'd feel after each repeat, but off I went.

Ian wasn't at the session, but his partner Michelle was there to help organize and lead the group. Once we had warmed-up and stretched, we were off on our first 1000m leg. I was following Michelle and a group of guys who were setting the pace. By the halfway point I found myself leading everyone.

Was I going too fast? I felt strong and I was breathing ok. I completed the first 1000m in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Nine seconds faster than I was supposed to run it, but I felt fine and after the rest I was ready to go again.

This time around I ran beside a guy named Jason who was running similar paces to me. I decided to stay with him and run closer to my prescribed time/pace. We finished the second 1000m in 3:51. Still fast, but  I was still feeling good.

I ran all the 800m repeats along side Jason. And while we intended to run closer to our planned pacing, we completed each 800m right around 3 minutes even. Still ahead of the plan, but I was good. No problem with the faster paces. No problems until the second last 600m repeat.

I'm not sure if it was the lingering cold from the week before or if it was because I had run faster than I was supposed to during the first set of repeats or a combination of the two, but the last two 600m repeats were tough.

I ran the first 600m in 2:07. I was now starting to feel the burn in my legs and was coughing up some serious phlegm. So I consciously ran the next one slower. Jason followed my lead and we ran it in exactly 2:17. Bang on pace, but I was still coughing up crap and my heart was pounding. Maybe this was the way it was supposed to feel.

The last 600m I couldn't keep up with Jason and fell in behind two other guys. I thought I'd draft off them and then give a push at the end. There was no push, but I did run the repeat slightly faster than the previous one, finishing in 2:14.

More coughing, gasping for air, I was done!

After I caught my breath, I jogged about 1k to cool down which helped get things back to "normal" - meaning I stopped hacking up phlegm and got my heart rate under control.

No doubt it was a tough training session, but in a perverse sort of way it felt good to run fast and test my limits. And it wasn't on a treadmill.