This was a repeat of a session we did last year in prep for the Herts 10k, 3 x 2.8miles on with 3 min recovery. This year we were 6, Simon and Paul were back but it was a new one for Anthony, Big Paul and new boy Alex.
Alex is Anthony's boss and he rolls up in an Audi pimp mobile. Very nice it was too.
We reminisced about last year, I'd done a crouch start, Paul had to abandon due to toilet issues and Simon had run up and down encouraging us all while we gasped for air.
This year the weather has been poor so foot conditions are boggy and slippy. That makes it hard work as there are a few sections along fields.
Simon was just back from injury so he made sure Alex was ok. Anthony had done 30k yesterday, so he had an excuse ready.
We set off pretty well. The 2 Paul's set the pace, looking very comfortable. I was trying to stay near 7's as I have a tendency to go off way too fast. It was a tough old slog and the sweat was beginning to flow as we reached the golf course and finish of the first rep. Anthony was ok and Alex was doing well.
The second rep is substantially up. The 2 Paul's were off, I was struggling and the Garmin was telling me I had to speed up. Couldn't do it and the pace was over 7's the whole way.
The third section was very muddy and slippy, that made any pace very difficult. The 2 Paul's didn't seem to be struggling as they pulled away. The pace was slow. I pushed the last bit and managed to get the pace back up to 6min pace. Overall it was tough.
The splits were Rep1: 6.54 / Rep 2: 7:37 / Rep 3: 7:46. Average = 7:25
Last year they were: 6:30 / 7:03 / 6:58. Woops. That tells a story of limited recovery from the half ironman and also not too many running miles over recent months. Last year my focus was 100% on the 10k but this year running's been a poor 3rd to the bike an swim.
The bad news though is that Simon seems to have aggravated his injury on today's run which is a real shame given the 10k is next Sunday.
Garmin
