Saturday - 20 minute threshold (+ 2 x 20 sec, 6 x 10 sec hill sprints)

I didn’t feel as good warming up this morning compared to last week. Already had some doubts in my mind on the way up to North Head, but then regain composure and reminded myself that it was simply a threshold run - not a 20 minute time trial, and to keep the effort below that redline. This helped, and before long I was off. Probably took it out at what felt like a slightly slower pace, bearing in mind that I really wanted to go five minutes further this week. No snakes today (although that didn’t stop one of the CanToo cyclists who obviously remembered me from last week reminding me of the snake), but very similar weather (hot and humid). I really ensured that I kept the pace within my perceived ‘threshold’ limits, meaning that a few times throughout the run I had to consciously back the pace off slightly (especially on the inclines). Got tonthe marker where I stopped last week and was beginning to wish that I was doing fifteen minutes instead of twenty. Although it wasn’t until the first look at the watch (17:40) that I began to feel the end was near. From then on in I knew I was going to make it, but had to kind of dig deep over the last minute or so. Luckily for me it is slightly downhill. Surprisingly got to the 6km mark just before the 20 minutes had passed, finishing at 6.02km (3:20’s, or 3:19’s according to the ‘corrected’ Strava measurement). So pretty much the same pace as last week, but five minutes further. Really stoked with that, as I truly did not believe that was achievable today. Again, I don’t want to get caught up with trying to run a faster pace each week, as the conditions and my body will change from week to week. What is essential here is to run on feel, and that is something that I think I have nailed to perfection these last two Saturday’s. As they say, it felt ‘comfortably hard’ and always in control (unlike those Mona Fartlek days where I was redlining from the first kilometer - no wonder I burnt out so easy)! A long 8km cool-down to get out the 17km planned total for this morning’s run. Then down to Sydney Rd for some hill sprints. Always feel better after doing these, and quite enjoy them at the same time. Now for the ocean!