Hi everyone, I’m a bit late posting this week, I got completely sidetracked from posting yesterday 🙃🤷♂️ but this is what I got up to in my third week of half marathon training with the Nike+ Run Club app. This week was speed week:
Monday Speed Intervals:
Ok so my first set of speed intervals in this plan. Nike had instructed me to run 5 x 400m with a two minute break after each 400m run. They did also recommend a pace to stick to, but I completely ignored that and did my own thing …obviously.
I went at about 7pm after work decided to use one of the local roads by the school on Coockoo Lane, it’s very well lit, the paths are wide and flat with very little camber and surprisingly it’s quieter than the beach path at this time in the evening.
I hit the button on the app and went for it! 5 sets of 400m as fast as I could, it was so exhilarating! I was running right on top of my toes… quite a strange feeling… almost quite effortless like I was floating… I’m positive I didn’t look or sound like I was floating 🤔…But my god it felt so good. I felt a surge of adrenaline after every burst of speed, my legs felt strong and I loved every single minute of these intervals!
I left the school road exhausted, but with excited anticipation for the next set of speed intervals on Friday…
Wednesday 5K tempo Run:
It’s been a good few weeks now since I’ve had a quicker paced 5K, I’ve been trying to be a good boy and stick to the prescribed easy and recovery paces set by the app for the longer runs, which have be around the 6.30 - 7 minute per KM mark, but for this run I’d been asked to maintain an average pace of 5:56 per KM. It was a dark cold Wednesday evening and it felt great thrashing this one out. A quick ‘out and back’ run to Lee on Solent… I did find it a bit of a slog in parts, but afterwards I had a real runners high.
Friday Speed Intervals:
Twice in one week?! …I must’ve been exceptionally good in another life to deserve this!!!
This time Nike had set me 9 x 200m speed runs to do, again with a 2 minute break in between each run.
Very similar to the last set of speed intervals, but this time I did have an audience, an elderly couple watched me out their living room window, running up and down their road like a complete and utter lunatic nine times in a row.
On one of the sets, I started off on my sprint and hadn’t noticed another runner coming in the other direction about 50 meters away, I think where I had gone from being stood completely still to then sprinting towards him at full pelt it must have surprised him a bit because he completely stopped in his tracks! I did give him a polite smile and a wide berth as I passed him on the wide path but he just looked at me with a slightly worried look on his face, I do hope my sprinting smile didn't look look like a grimace?! 😬
My average pace over all of the 9 sets came to 3:56 (km). I don’t think I’ve ever had quite this much fun in a pair of shorts and compression socks before.
Sunday 7.5K recovery run:
My boy decided it looked a bit windy outside on Sunday morning, his cosy 'Minecraft' onesie was obviously far more appealing than accompanying me out on a run on his bike.
So fair enough I thought, I'll go out for something a bit different today and take advantage of a very rare daylight run. Since I’ve started running I've not turned right at the beach... always left… firstly because of the hill when you turn right (the only real hill in Hill Head), and secondly because the streets are unlit and the paths are a bit dodgy/non existent. But on a sunny (but windy) Sunday morning this would fit the bill nicely.
So I headed on down to Hill Head harbour just after 9am, it was glorious... just me, a few fishermen packing up after a nights fishing and some dog walkers. I stopped and took some photos (see main pic) and it was a very chilled out run indeed, just as a recovery run should be. From the harbour I then ran along the beach front and around Titchfield Haven nature reserve, the wind was strong, but didn’t really put me off and I loved every minute of this run.
On the way back I ran up the Hill Head hill and it was fine. I’m going to be adding this to my regular routes for some local hill work (I’m sure JonathanP will be chuckling at this… no thank you, I don’t fancy trying your hill out!). I think it must have been C25K hill avoidance tactics that has stopped me enjoying this absolute gem of a route so far.
Days like this make me feel so lucky to have this on my doorstep. I’m really looking forward to the spring / summer time now so I can really start to explore some of the trail routes that are along this end of the beach... a good run out west along the costal cliff trail path (pictured) to Warsash and back would be incredible!
This evening I’m starting week 4 of my plan, with my first attempt at 12.5K. I hope you’re all well out there VRB’s, do let me know what’s been going on with your running!
TS⚡🔥
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