Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Back to work at Kampung Pandan track. I could resume training mainly thanks to the massage from my wife over the weekend. Missed out on such training at the track for a month due to various reasons (rain, work, family etc.)
>
The day's workout was somewhat different than usual. Main set 10 x 600m @ 3:20 (read as 10 times 600 meters on 3 minutes 20 seconds).
>
Coach was cheeky as usual and did not reveal the number of 600m reps at the start of the set (we were told not to ask). But there were murmurs amongst the runners that we might be going for 10 times.
>
Unfamiliar with running 600m, I started the set easy and ran 2:42. Hence, I had a good 40 seconds rest before the next rep. The pace felt easy and 38 seconds rest interval felt long enough. But experience told me that things will turn around drastically deeper into the set. So I made a conscious attempt to maintain my pace at around 2:40 per 600m.
>
It was only after 5 reps that coach announced that we had another 5 more to go. The stronger runners got promoted to run the balance of the 600m @ 3:00. I was only good enough to continue with the other runners @ 3:20.
>
Indeed, 2:40 pace began to feel quite painful to maintain and rest interval seemed to fly pass without a trace as we piled up the reps. I was reduced to 2:47 in the 9th rep, partly feeling the pain and partly to reserve for the last rep.
>
In the 2nd half of the last rep, I think experienced what they called a runner's high. I was half-dead & seeing stars but somehow found the strenght to go a little faster. I finished the last 600m in 2:33.
>
Rep 1 - 2:42
Rep 2 - 2:40
Rep 3 - 2:39
Rep 4 - 2:40
Rep 5 - 2:38
Rep 6 - 2:42
Rep 7 - 2:43
Rep 8 - 2:43
Rep 9 - 2:47
Rep 10 - 2:33
>
Typically, coach made us run another 2x400m to end the day. So much for my "runner's high", I was completely drained by then. I ran the last 2x400 almost at warm up pace.
>
One of the younger runners ran too hard and puked in the last 2x400, that's how tough the day's work was but that was the fun part.
