Hi Everyone,
How are you all doing? Ready for another week of punishment, sorry fun. Here we go.
Monday 28th September. This week you have a choice.
6.45- 7pm. Thirsk School. Gym. First session indoor session of the winter. Please arrive before 7pm because the doors are on an automatic lock. In other words there will be nobody to let you in if you are late.
6.45- 7pm. Sowerby gateway. Outside group. Please listen carefully to instructions on the night.
Warm up: 10-15mins
Main session: Short intervals 28 mins
4 sets of 90s, 60s, 30s, 15s at 6-7/10 effort with 60s easy at 2-4/10 between efforts.
6-7/10 effort is a pace you could hold for 60-70 mins in a race. You should be able to say 2-3 words at a time.
2-3/10 is easy running, able to hold a conversation. 4/10 is steady, able to speak in short sentences.
Cool down jog/walk and stretches.
Wednesday 30th September. Once again you have a choice.
6.45- 7pm. Thirsk School-Sports Hall.
Rolling core work and intense intervals. Not only do you do core work you also get the run. A great work out for all those taking part.
6.45- 7pm. Sowerby Gateway.
Please bring your head torch or body torch and hi viz
Warm up: 10-15 mins including strides (short bursts of quicker running over 60- 80m at a faster pace but NOT sprinting).
Main session: 8 x 3 min @ 6 to 7/10 effort / 75 secs active recovery, either gentle jog (if you are used to doing this workout) or brisk walk.
6 to 7/10 effort = controlled discomfort, a pace you could hold for 60-70 mins. You should be able to speak 2-3 words at a time. Cruising at speed.
Cool down: 5- 10min easy run and stretches
I know all of you will read the above instructions carefully and hopefully you will understand them. Always remembering, we all train to either improve or to maintain. I’ve not come across anyone yet who wants to train to run slower. I’d just like to add how I would run my present intervals. My average speed for a 5k parkrun is somewhere in the region of 7 mins 30 secs per mile. Always aiming to improve/ maintain I’d run my 2 or 3 minute effort on the track at 7 minute pace. Before the session starts I will work out how far I should be running in 2 or 3 minutes at 7 minute per mile pace eg. 450 metres. I will fix this measurement into my mind and run this distance. I don’t need to look at my watch if we have a coach timing us. I just concentrate on covering the distance , relaxed, before the whistle blows. I would expect to run all my intervals within a second or so of each other. It’s the most efficient way to train. Prepare the body. Focus the mind. Trust in your training and believe in yourself .Always. Hope this helps.
Just a couple of reminders. Please be mindful of other uses when out and about on the track.
1. Last night on the track we had an awful lot of traffic. It was a great night to be out. Walkers. runners, bikes and lots of dark coloured dogs. Please remember. We all need to be wearing torches. See and be seen. If we don’t then maybe we should be training on the grass until the colder nights arrive when there will be fewer people out and about and a lot less traffic.
2. Noise!! When there is someone coming in the opposite direction could we please have a polite, please keep left or keep right and not an almighty shout. We want them to step sideways, not for them to jump out of their skin. If we all wear lights we will see the person and also able to hear instructions given out by the coach who is taking the session.
Hope this helps to make it a safer and a more enjoyable experience for us all. Thanks.
Crocus bulbs.
Thanks to your generosity and a huge donation from Thirsk Garden centre, we now have 4000 crocus bulbs to plant. This will make a fantastic display. We will be planting them sometime in October so listen out for a date of when and where. Meanwhile, keep your planting gear well oiled and ready to go at a moments notice.
A close shave.
This afternoon I was cleaning leaves up with my go faster lawn mower on the foot paths in Front Street, Sowerby. It’s easier and quicker to do it this way. It was here I exchanged a few words with Julian, the Vet, as he walked slowly by with his little white dog. A the very moment we were opposite each other I sliced through a roll of white paper towels which had been dumped on the floor. White paper flew in all directions and just for a split second I thought it was the dog., Never a dull moment when you’re out and about doing you’re daily chores as a gardener.
Yet another year goes by.
I mention this each and every year we start indoor training. The darker and earlier nights are now with us and it’s great to be able to train indoors. This is my 45th winter of training with Thirsk and Sowerby harriers. I ran my first indoor interval training session at Easingwold School, 1964′ ish when I was 12’ish years old. Years go by and dates become a little vague. The session was 10 x 1 minute/ 1 minute recovery. My PE teacher was Mr William (Billy) Bell. What became obvious during this one first session was that I loved the challenge and I loved the pain. I also liked to be first and I also liked to win. For all those out there who keep telling me that I am too competitive. Please, it’s not my fault. It’s Mr Bell who should be taking all the blame. I had huge respect for Mr Bell. Regardless of ability, If you didn’t give 100% commitment you didn’t get in his team. Equally, if someone didn’t give 100% commitment I wouldn’t want them in my team either. We had huge respect for each other. Get into his bad books it was a different story altogether.
Keep running, keep smiling and see you all soon, Rob
