Smash Hits

Speed session. The session - according to a friend - that I absolutely need to smash to see improvements of speed.
I can't say I was exactly thrilled that I had reached the day to "smash it". Every lazy bone in my body argued that I was already doing enough, running fast enough, pushing myself far enough...but peer pressure is a wonderful thing. And plus, that little inner question where I couldn't help but ask myself can I?
Can I go faster? Can I push myself harder? And what will happen if I do?
When I found out we were doing 2k reps with a 1min recovery, I just groaned. Run as hard as I possibly can for 2k? And then do it all over again?
With our extended speed sessions, I estimated I would do 3-4 of these reps. I hoped it was 3!
So out I went. As per the rules given (to me) no talking, no hanging back to run with friends. This was all focussed on push, push, push.

Rep #1: 1k/2k: 5.22/5.14. I felt good. Kept up with a faster group than I'm used to and pushed it through to the end. I was pretty tired at the end, and 1min rest didn't feel like enough. I worried I was going to be a 1-rep wonder and fade out in the following.
As a trick, I made my footfalls into mental drumbeats and tried to think of a song that matched that drumbeat. The song I picked? Carol of the Bells. Yep. Middle of August and I'm singing Christmas songs.

Rep #2: 3k/4k: 5.14/5.09. No, I didn't know I was running faster. I set my sights on a gal ahead and told myself not to fall behind. My goal was to push it really hard for the first 1400m...and then pick up the pace for the final 600m. I was beat at the end of this rep!

Rep #3: 5k/6k: 5.21/5.14. Looking at these times, I'm impressed with my consistency. It wasn't intentional. But I guess what helped was good ole Carol of the Bells. When I thought I couldn't take another step without stopping, I started singing the song in my head and picked up my feet to match the rhythm playing in my mind.

Rep #4: 7k/8k. 5.35/5.17. I was really hoping to skip this rep. Really, REALLY hoping to skip this rep. I had nothing left. Nothing, zilch, nada. I told myself I couldn't possibly run all this distance. And as I started out, I began reciting all the excuses why I should stop there. And until I hit the turn-around, I kept on with those mental excuses. But I also kept my eyes focused on those slightly-faster-than-me fellow runners who (at last session) were the so-much-faster-than-me-that-I'll-never-come-close-to-catching-them runners.

Even at the end, I was surprised I kept up a relatively similar pace for those 8k. I thought I'd fade much more quickly than that. But it was also awesome that I could hold my head up high and tell myself, yep, I smashed it.

Total time: 57.15min
Total distance: 10.4km
Average pace: 5.30min/km