18M am long run including 15.6M crescendo at 6.10-5.45min/M at 2300m
I had a great run today. Really confidence-boosting.
I didn't know what I was doing in the session until we got to the spot - about 30-40K out of Addis. It was a beautiful smooth road rolling through the countryside. Virtually traffic free and just passing the odd village to receive cheers of support from the locals.
The coach told me my job was to warm up gradually for a couple of miles and then hit 5K splits of 20ish minutes, gradually speeding up for the next 25K. I headed out with Gudisa and the female athletes.
I was a bit stiff after yesterday's core strength work, but felt good pretty soon. We obediently hit 19.51 for the first 5K and then sped up. I averaged 5.57min/M and ran the last 10K in 36.00 (5.45min/M - ie about 5.20-5.25 pace at sea level). I was pushing for the whole of the last 10K and really working for the last few K which were a bit uphill.
The set up was great. We were running different distances depending on our needs (and at different speeds), so I had imagined an out and back route. But we ended up running point to point with the coach driving along in the minibus and stopping at various points to clock our splits and shout instructions. The funniest bit was at 3K, before I knew what was going on. He pulled up just ahead of us, jumped out and scrurried across the road, drew a chalk line in front about 2 metres in front of us and shouted '3K. Very good. Slower'.
No run this evening. Instead we went out for dinner at the house of the friendly pharmacists we met the other day. Plenty of injera on offer, along with other tasty Ethiopian goodies.
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