5000m + 3000m

I wasn't looking forward to this session. Not one little bit.

The 5km was supposed to be run in 19:30 so an average pace of 3'54" /km and the 3km was supposed to be run in 11'15" or an average pace of 3'45" / km. There was 3' of recovery in between the intervals but you were wupposed to speed up between the two.

I left the hotel and it was a warm evening so I took along a bottle of water to keep me hydrated after the intervals. It is unbelievably annoying to run with a bottle in your hand. However you seem to hold it, you can never get comfortable. If it wasn't so warm, I would have thrown it away after 500m but I figured that I'd need this later on so I held on to it.

I warmed up for 4km at 4'45" pace before setting off along the main road to Charleville Mézières. Although there was a fair amount of traffic, I decided that it was one of the flattest roads in the area and I wasn't going to make this session any harder by throwing in some hills too.

A slight decline to begin with and a good fast start for the first interval :

3'33", 3'36", 3'39", 3'39, 3'37" and I'd finished the first one with the last 1.5km a bit of an effort and I had to grit my teeth to maintain my pace. 18'07" in total for a target of 19'30".

The 3 minute recovery went by far too quickly and I was off again :

3'35", 3'38, 3'35" and it was all over. 10'48" in total for 11'15".

I almost gave up after the first kilometre on this last session. I was hurting badly and I desperately wanted to throw in the towel. My legs were aching and I was overheating. It was a real relief and a pleasure to have smashed the allotted times with some very regular running. These times confirm my form for the moment as they are in line with the 8k I ran on Sunday at around 3'38" pace.

A jog back to the hotel and 18.2km all up in 1h17. Average pace of 4'14"/km for the session. Going well.