Training XXIX

I am really seeing the benefits of my training over the summer now.

Last night Fat Lad, Titfer and I rolled up at the track we are using now that the dark nights are drawing in. After the usual warm up I suggested we did the following ... run 150m at 3/4 pace, recover and rest over the next 50m and then repeat. We managed 5 full laps which was 10 runs and 10 walks before taking a 10 minute break.

Just before we started the second set which was originally intended to be a repeat of the first set, we noticed how dark it was getting. Also Titfer, who hasn't trained regularly with us, was starting to struggle with a really bad stitch. So we set off with the intention of completing 3 laps and maybe squeezing in a fourth.

Titfer was in a bad way when we set off on the 4th run as Fat Lad was pushing both of us along with me as pacemaker for the group. I was consistently coming in at 30s or under for the 150m and that was easy for Fat Lad but a tough target for Titfer. Disaster then struck as I got a sharp pain on the inside of my right knee! It is something I've been managing since we started training and is the residue of an old injury from a few seasons ago.

I stopped straight away and started flexing my knee to release the tissue which had become nipped in the joint which was what was causing the pain. I tried to jog along but the pain was still sharp and intense. After 100m I stopped and starting flexing the knee again and then I got a cold feeling in my knee. I tried jogging again and found the pain had eased. As I jogged the 250m to my start point on the previous lap, the pain went away, so I completed my last run.

So I'd racked up 14 runs of 150m each in 30s or less. I burned 926 calories and maxed at 98% with an average of 78% (I think the recovery periods between runs were too long). It's time to prepare for a busy weekend and week with 4 games in four days and a funeral to plan ... dad died last night around 11.25. He'd been asleep since Thursday night when I visited him and had been well cared for during his last day. Rest in peace, dad x