Thursday night track session… you’ve got to be joking!
My first mistake was turning up. The second was not escaping when I had the chance.
Track running involves going round and round a 400 metre loop. I don’t do loops. I don’t like running circuits. I run the hills… that’s where I belong.
But I turned up… turned up like a puppy, big wide eyes full of innocence… full of innocence until I was chucked to the lions.
Before leaving the house I had looked at this week’s track running instructions, these arrive every Thursday morning as an “enticement” to get out there. I reviewed them carefully and decided that the bottom group was for me (they call it Group 4b). They run at an 8min/mi pace, which is broadly my parkrun pace (not that I’ve done more than one because I don't like running round loops). However, on arrival Coach Dave, who I have run with on Tuesday evenings, told me that I should run with him in Group 3a.
Something else is important to note about this evening. It was bloody freezing. Proper freezing. The thermometer said it was a single degree… but a Siberian wind was blowing a hooley which took the temperature well south of zero. And there’s me dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. My face was so cold I couldn’t speak… which is why when Dave said “you should join me in Group 3a”, I was powerless to argue.
We ran a few slow laps to warm up… these, I should point out, were laps I would consider quite a vigorous pace in normal circumstance. Then before I could crack the face ice and shout: ‘Woooahhh, I’m in the wrong group”… we were off.
This is how it went:
2 x 1000 metre laps at a 7min/mi pace with a 2 minute recovery in-between. THEN
3 * 600 metre laps at 6min/mi pace with a 1.5 minute recovery in-between. THEN, THEN
3 * 400 metre laps at 6min/mi pace with a 1 minute recovery in-between.
HOLY SHIT BATMAN.... particularly when Dave pointed out that we were running slightly quicker than we should have been.
I have to admit that I dropped out of the middle 400 metre lap because I couldn’t actually breathe.
Apparently if I stick at it for 5 to 6 weeks I will find my feet and see a notable improvement. That’s if I’m still alive. The only thing that gives me a glimmer of pleasure is the thought of dragging BGG along.
I will probably do it again though. Next week perhaps…
January resolutions... Pah
