It has happened to all of us I’m sure?
It happened to me this week. I tried to rationalise it during my run but I could not put my finger on why this particular interval session felt like I was running in quick sand.
Was it something I’d eaten? Was the reason I felt so lethargic because of a few hours of missed sleep this week? Could it have been that I had been slumped at a desk for 8 hours and my body was protesting because it had forgotten how to move?
The honest answer is, I simply don’t know why I struggled to put one foot in front of the other. I can only surmise that all of the above hindered my level of enthusiasm. I did contemplate quitting and starting again another day, but with a 10k race just a few weeks away and a busy work/life schedule, my training sessions are rather limited.
All the excuses had presented themselves to me during my run and I could have quite easily stopped running and returned home. I normally love running in the rain, however tonight, the fine rain in the air contrived to blind me on certain parts of the course.
After 3 reps I had this extreme urge to pee, which never happens (I’ve ran two marathons, taking on copious amounts of water and never had to stop to take a comfort break) I also developed a niggly hip pain which throbbed consistently throughout the run, but I kept on going.
Interval sessions can be tough but I have found this type of speed work invaluable for my overall fitness levels. For clarity, I often mix up the structure of my interval training so that I don’t get bored. I find that repeating the same reps over and over again can lead to diminished returns, however a personal favourite of mine, and the one I so struggled with tonight consists of the following –
10 Minute Warm Up
2 Minutes Fast
2 Minutes Rest – repeat 6 times
10 Minute Cool Down
I find this session particularly good for improving 5 and 10k times, although what is good for me and good for you is a subjective matter, but personally I find that this has the desired effect and completing this routine once a week for a few weeks certainly makes me run stronger and a little faster.
This sequence is not easy to complete if done correctly, but interval training isn’t meant to be a walk in the park so here are a few tips I’ve gleaned over the past couple of years that have helped me complete these sessions.
1) Don’t Give Up, You’ll Regret It…
Although this sounds logical, I find sometimes when running gets tough my judgement becomes clouded. In fact I was very close to breaking this very piece of advice myself this week.
The easiest option would have been to jack it all in and sulk after my comfort break. An enforced break in the pattern meant that I found it difficult to get back up to speed again on the 4th rep, but I knew that if I didn’t complete the full set of 6 reps I would regret it until I next laced up my trainers.
Completing crap intervals is better than throwing in the towel.
2) The Tortoise and the Hare Syndrome
I’m guilty of it. It happens to me at least once a month. I feel invincible the moment I press that button on my Garmin and for the first couple of reps, that feeling continues. My legs are turning over rather nicely, my breathing is heavy, but controlled. Every element of my session is going swimmingly…until the 3rd rep.
The wheels have come off and I’m frantically chasing them down the hill, my legs don’t feel like my own and my lungs have been replaced by someone double my age and who has a chronic smoking habit.
I’ve gone out too quick and the early exuberance that I had mustered is now ebbing away and my fast reps are not much quicker than my resting reps.
This weeks session was a prime example of this. My first two fast reps were run faster than my average target pace over two minutes, but the final four reps left a lot to be desired.
Reign that exuberance in as much as you can early on, ease yourself into the run. if anything, try to run the first 2 reps just over target pace.
All is not lost though if you do find that you are spent before you’ve even started.
3) Take a Breather
I mean, don’t stop completely, but reduce your speed on the next rep and run just slower than target pace, by the time you’ve rested for 2 minutes, taken a slower 2 minute repeat and then rested for a further 2 minutes this should give you sufficient recovery time to go again for the final few efforts.
It is better to complete 4 or 5 ‘good’ repeats for the sake of 1 bad one.
4) No Half Measures
Right, you’ve had a nightmare, your legs ache and your heart is beating out of your chest and now you have the cool down to contend with.
I often get to the end of an interval session and tell myself that I cannot run another step and the cool down period is just prolonging my agony, but I find that completing a good cool down not only physically helps me get over the trauma of a bad run, but psychologically it helps to bury the truth.
Somehow, running that extra 10 minutes or a mile, whatever it may be, helps me forget about the run. By the time I have finished my cool down I am running at a reasonable pace, my breathing has returned to normal and the legs feel fresher. If I’d stopped immediately after my last fast/rest rep I would be left stewing on what I hadn’t been able to achieve.
The cool down really does act like a reset button.
5) Consistently Consistent
Finally, make sure that you assign regular time for interval training in your programme as the gains you make on a weekly basis can soon disappear if you don’t keep it up, which ultimately leads to frustration when your mind and body disagree on your fitness level.
Don’t expect progression without consistency, build the fitness base that you want and then see what possibilities lie ahead of you.
I’ve been guilty of all of the above however I’ve found these coping strategies have really helped me lower my race times this year through consistent training.
I would love to hear your ideas and training methods so please get in touch.
If you like some of the advice here why not take a look at my thoughts on the long run.