Well that was a hot one!! Not helped by the smell that made me stop last 5min rep. It did hamper my pace for the rest of the session along with how hot it was. RPE 7/8 not quite sure how I felt I was running faster but my pace was a lot slower? Maybe the heat? Maybe my watch? I do now try to think of my effort for the session. To be honest I didn’t give this session a consistent 100 percent and did allow myself to stop or drop the pace in places. But I got out! And got it done!
The heat does make running a lot more difficult, so sometimes it is just about showing up and ticking it off. We can’t be on top form all the time. In terms of effort, in those tough moments, going forward, it’s about understanding that’s when it matters. If we want to make gains, improve our times, those are the moments we have to keep working at the top level. It’s hard, it hurts, it’s not much fun, but it’s how we improve. And it feels bloody great afterwards. And the more you do it, the more self belief it gives you. The mindset I use and try and talk about at efforts, is to see it as the opportunity. Our speed work is our 1 real big opportunity that week to improve our 5k time, so it’s important we take it. That’s not a criticism of this session, as I realise the heat plays such a big part, but see it more as encouragement going forward. In the grand scheme of things a few minutes of really hard work each week is worth it to see those gains. I say “few” because if you do a 5 min rep, generally the first 2-3 won’t be too bad, it’s the last 2 you really had to dig deep. I believe going forward you can take those opportunities and keep improving 🧡💪
Coach Simon 🍊
