Reaching your limit

On our normal Wednesday half marathon loop yesterday I tried to push very hard on the second 5 minute push from the turn around. The average pace for the push was 3.31/km (5.39/mile) and at times we were running 3.25/km (5.30/mile).

I reached my limit. The last minute was uncomfortable and my legs were burning pretty hard. I got the distinct impression / feeling that I would not be able to sustain that pace for much longer than the 5 minutes and on the third push when Russ started out running 3.35/km I dropped off the pace to settle at a more reasonable 3.45/km (6.02/miles). Nevertheless, I still managed to reach the 5km mark from the turnaround in 19.25. That is pretty fast considering we had 4 minutes at a slow recovery pace mixed in as well.

It is nice to test your limits once in while. The Wednesday run in particular gives a good impression of overall fitness as you start the pushes when your legs have been running for an hour at a moderate to easy pace beforehand.

I am looking forward to my first 5 km race of the year next month to see what kind of speed I can sustain. Based on yesterdays workout breaking the 17.30 barrier is out of the question, but I should stand a chance of going sub 18. We will see.