Friday tempo run

Was following a thread on a running forum yesterday about marathon training. To cut a very long thread short, the basic gist of what some of the runners were saying is that you can't just do the mileage for training, you have to do the lactate training. Apparently, your lactate threshold can be improved regularly, while your VO2 max can improve for a while before it hits a plateau. This made me think about my training and how I don't push my speed sessions hard enough by myself.

So having thought about all of this yesterday, I decided to have a couple of beers and try and put all thoughts of running fast out of my mind. No, I came back from work this evening and decided that I would run an old route to Chateau du Val just to see if I am as unfit as I think I am.

The Chateau du Val route encompasses a little of everything. First you start on the road and run uphill into the old Mesnil centre by the Church through the arch and into the forest (you'd better note all of this down Nico as you're gooing to have to try and run this to see how you fare!); you then have a forest section, a fast downhill before you run back on a paved path to Chateau du Val over the grass and then back up a short steep climb back into the forest and then eventually home back past the Church down a very steep road and then sprint along the road to home. It's just under 7.2k and my record is 28:59. In fact, having just found the link, I set this record on a Friday evening 2 years ago exactly.

I set off thinking that I would blast the course, just to see and to get some speed work in before the 10k next month. I set off fast, but not too quick as I know that the uphill can destroy you from the beginning if you push too hard. First km just under the arch in 4:11. Not too bad but I could feel my lungs aching already.I pushed on in the forest and the next kilometre was managed in 3:53 - this was more like it and now that I was running at over 15km/h, I determined to keep it that way.

Splits went: 4:11, 3:53, 3:54, 3:56, 3:54, 3:53, 3:45 and all up in 27:57 or an average of 3:55 per km. A new course record and I beat the time of 2 years ago by 1 minute. Cheered myself up no end and now think that Nico has a race on his hands next month.

Going on holiday in peace for a week now!