I wanted to post separately about this. See, while it's true I have been slacking off in some departments, I've been pulling my socks up in others, especially speed work. I've been consistently joining Cardiff Triathletes for their Monday evening run, which typically entails fast intervals or hill sprints, and hammering out the odd lung-bursting tempo run.
And it seems to be paying off: on 3 December I knocked 12 seconds off my 5km PB, posting a time of 18:47 at Cardiff Parkrun. And at last night's regular Monday evening session I had sprung on me a 2-mile time trial, but surprised myself with a time of 11:22. That's the first time I've ever been timed over that distance (other than as part of a duathlon), so whatever time I ran was always going to be a PB. But it felt good to be the first runner home and to average a blistering pace of 5:41/mile.
So now I just need to keep up that speed work as well as the long runs, cycling and swimming. Easy! Next major test, though, is a small 5-mile race on Saturday, and I have my current PB of 32:00 in my sights. Let's end this calendar year on a high!
Some impressive times there Ed, nothing like training with a group to dig out the best in you. Good luck in Saturday's five miler.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gordon! You're right about the group thing, for sure. Before joining the tri club I had only run once or twice with groups. Always been happy enough on my lonesome. On Monday the next two finishers were only 8 seconds behind me, so definitely pushing me all the way. Great stuff! Though it's the first time I have ever led a race of any description and it was weird not to have a target in the crosshairs! ;-)
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