I woke up a bit too late to do Parkrun so, as per my 'planning' yesterday, decided on the second guided run of the NRC 10k plan, 'First Speed Run'. Husband came too. He doesn't wear headphones and generally is a bit dismissive of guided runs so I have to tell him what to do. It's always gratifying when that happens 😂
Coach Cory is great, such an encouraging voice and a bit more focussed than dear old Coach B. I relayed his instructions, expecting Mr Y to run the intervals at his 5k pace, but he said he'd follow me. Warm up done, the first of 8 intervals of 1 minute with a 1 minute recovery between each.
It's been a while I've had to consciously think about speed/effort/pace so off I went. Checking my watch I realised my pace was much faster my normal 5k. At this very moment Coach Cory told me not to overdo the first interval. Was he hiding behind a bush? There aren't any in the flat farmland landscape where I run so he must be telepathic.
Subsequent intervals got faster (apart from one of them) with the recovery period being used to bring my heart rate back down to something sensible. Despite the numbers it felt very comfortable, perceived effort was only 5-6/10 rather than the flat outness that the HR monitor suggested.
I realised as I was skipping along that we were probably a lot closer to my husband's 5k pace than mine. Not only that, I doubt I could crack along that quickly for a whole 5k but it's good to stretch yourself occasionally, isn't it? Still wouldn't have cracked the elusive 30 minute 5k but hey ho, that's not a particular ambition.
At the end of the run I gently jogged to the end of the path. For some reason the NRC app only recorded the guided run section so I may add the extra bit manually just for completeness.
Husband sprinted off home while I walked the rest of the way. That nice Mr Garmin has knocked a year off my VO2 age. Despite my efforts I'm feeling pretty energised and cheerful. Definitely a good way to start the weekend 
NRC interval run
