I’ve seen posts across social media for the past two years and seen every Tuesday #TrackdayTuesday appear across my feed, with runners either pushing their speed endurance limits or taking part in social runs on 400 meter tracks.
I’ve never taken part, well until yesterday. With an interval session on my plan and a recently spotted track (grass field with a white lines painted on in a local park) I took the opportunity to test my resilience and experience the running phenomenon.
After a warm up, I stepped on the track to take on 36 minutes of varying intensities in a loop. I hate the heat and it was pushing 24ºC+. Now, for those not in the UK and further south, this may feel like nothing, but for a Brit, with Scottish heritage, I suffer.
And suffer I did.
Kicking of my first effort averaging 5.15min/mile, I was way too fast. But I was fresh and didn’t feel it. 3 hard efforts and recovery (you can refer to it as recovery, but it wasn’t slow by any means), sweat was filling my eyes, as my body baked in the uninterrupted sunlight.
Dodging families practicing drill (marching) and a local football team setting up their goal on the inner most loop, after the 6th hardest effort, I headed straight for the treeline. Shade! I stood beneath the canopy, cooling off, wiping salt from my eyes and psyching myself up for another 18 minutes of misery.
My times dropped, my fastest efforts slipping to 6.30min/mile, much closer to where I should have pushed.
Running the entire session solo, it was up to my mind to complete the full course and many times I justified 9,10, 11 efforts. Perseverance paid off.
I was broken, GI distress kicked and getting cool was a necessity.
So track Tuesday. I set a best mile and 2 mile effort, averaged faster miles than I ever run and blew up spectacularly.
Bring on the next one?
James Mackeddie 