Club session - 10 x 500m

I went down to the club with Laurence tonight to do the 10 x 500m session that had been programmed by Miguel. Laurence was going to the club for the first time since her injury and it was nice to see how many people came up to her to welcome her back :)

There was a good turnout at the club with François and Pascal along. The good runners were out in force too: Momo, Ilyes, Jean-Marc, Sébastien, etc. and a couple of new runners that I didn't recognise. I was relieved to see a fellow vet with both José and Bruno present so I had somebody to run with. Gérald was back too - not yet in top form but better than I've seen him in a long while.

We warmed up and I chatted to François about the forthcoming trail in Beuzeville in December. We agreed to take a hotel room so that it would be easier for the race which starts at 6:00 am. At least this way we can get some sleep and a decent breakfast before the start.

Back to the track and the serious stuff begins. I tell José and Mireille that I'm wanting to run the 500m in 1'40 and we can run together if they're interested. We set off and José runs to the front and I follow about 5 metres behind. This feels fast and I'm not used to it. I feel a slight pulling behind my right knee as I stretch tendons that don't normally get this sort of treatment. I finish in 1:39 and I tell José that we're a little fast.

Guess what ? the second one is faster and the third faster still but I'm up and running now and the pain and the breathlessness is not too hard to bear. Better still for the morale is that I'm in front of José on each one now and only just behind Jean-Marc and closing on the final straights. The last couple are tough but I grit my teeth and we're done. Splits went as follows:

1:39, 1:36, 1:34, 1:35, 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:33, 1:34 and 1:31 to finish.

Another great session and I'm flying at the moment. Nico turned up at the end moaning about another marathon session where he had to jog for an hour. He really needs to man up a little. Laurence was suffering from a sore knee which has nothing to do with her previsous injury. This didn't stop her doing a session but she'll need to watch this situation carefully.

13.5km all up.