3 minute effort speed session

Effort interval: 3 minutes
Rest interval: 1 minute
Number of reps: 7
Splits (pace & distance): 6:25 mins/mile (0.48 miles), 5:55 (0.51), 6:25 (0.47), 5:59 (0.50), 6:31 (0.46), 6:27 (0.46), 6:06 (0.49)

Went out with the running club last night (Monday) despite definite tightness in my hamstring. We opted for 3 mile efforts with a 1 minute rest round Furzton Lake in Milton Keynes. The run was good with just Ryan and myself out front. He is a fast runner (10k races are a long distance for him) and is always just ahead of me unless we do 9 or 10 reps in which case my endurance training seems to help me. Nothing different last night but I do enjoy running with him - he makes me stretch it out that bit more and he is a really nice, friendly guy. He is training for the London just now as his first ever marathon - good luck if you read this!

Quite pleased with my splits although I was probably running at >80% effort for some of the time. Not quite sure how to get faster whilst still training for ultras. I suspect getting faster will come gradually (it has been so over the past few years) and that my long distance training is probably the main constraint - developing a balance between fast and slow twitch fibres is probably not easy physiologically.

On an aside, there are certain routes that seem to have more kids hanging around on them. They almost invariably start running and shouting at us so I usually invite them to continue with the aim of encouraging them to think about running. A few younger lads (< 12 years old) tried to outpace last night and gave us a fair run it has to be said, but they never last more than a few hundred metres.

Having grown up in Glasgow I can easily say the teenagers down in Milton Keynes are super polite in comparison. No bottle or can throwing at all, not even a small stick or a swear word.