Interval training

Now that spring is upon us, the club is launching more training opportunities. There suddenly is Monday training and Wednesday training. There already was something going on on Monday, but that was not an official club activity. And there are Tuesday track sessions, also not a club thing, but then I have Welsh class. And our Thursday sessions are also not a club thing. But these trainings are.

I was keen to try one. And if not now then when? So I signed up. And drove to Llanberis on a Wednesday. 

I found the lady who organises the sessions, and a bloke. He introduced himself as Levi. Would that be it? Just two of us running? But then a lady called Gwen appeared. And that was indeed it.

We first did a six minute warm up, on the bicycle path next to the lake, and then we did, I think, five minutes at 10k pace. And then three minutes at 5k pace, twice. And then some even shorter intervals where you were supposed to go even faster. And in between increasingly short intervals recovery jogging. All of it on the path.

The 10k pace went well. I know very well what my 10k pace is. And my watch can tell me if I am running that. But I have a lot less routine with the shorter distances. What even is my 5k pace? I ran my PB in the 5k during the most recent 5m race. So I suppose I would be a bit faster if I really was only running 5k. I aimed at 4 minute kms. That was okay. Just.

I really have no idea what my 1k pace is, but I suppose that didn't matter. I just ran the short intervals at whatever speed I could muster. I don't think it was very fast! And my breathing was terribly laboured. But that is a sign that I am giving it what I have. I suppose the idea of interval training is that you leave something for the end. Maybe I should have been a bit more restrained in the beginning. But hey, I had never done this before. And I don't think my body really knows how to run distances shorter than 5k. 

It was over before I knew it! It took us less than an hour. And we had covered almost 9 km in that time. 

I don't think I will make a habit of this; I have a fitness tracker, so I could just plan a session like this myself. And then I can just keep going to the Thursday Hill sessions without being away running two evenings in a row. I can just do an interval session in a weekend. So I don't think I'll be back, but I'm glad I did this! And it was good fun!

Group selfie