2+2+2=6

Well after yesterday's steady 30 mins on the Cross Trainer (sorry not worth reporting!) which helped me recover from Monday's hard session, I thought it was time to rev the engine again in another speed session. This one, despite taking place in the same location (ie the School's grass track), took a completley different format and direction. It was much more endurance based, more of a 10k session than the 5k one encountered on Monday.
So, 2 miles 'easy' followed by 2 miles at a 'medium' pace, followed by a 'fast' last 2 miles. Yep, no rests, just continuous running which gets progressivley faster throughout the session. My next trouble would be what pace was fast, slow and medium. They are all fairly general terms; I did however have a rough idea of what these meant. 'Slow' would be 7:30 min/mile pace, 'medium' at around 7 and 'fast' hopefully in the region of 6. These predictions proved pretty accurate. I set off with these paces in mind and they felt to be pretty much perfect, although the slow may have been a little fast. Still, the session grew older and the pace got faster - a lot faster.
I ran the first mile (easy) in 8 minutes pretty much exactly and so decided to use this as a precidence for the second mile. I then had to up the pace to 'medium' which involved taking a minute and a bit off per unit as I did the first one in 7 minutes and the second in 6:50. The session, at this point, was far from over. I'd had it pretty easy up to the 4 mile point and I know had to kick on to a hard pace. This I did with a real vengeance as the legs got shifting and the heart got pumping. The first mile is a good effort, 5:58. I want better now though, I feel mentally strong and it's the last burst. I'm now going hard and really in full swing, going for it like it's the end of the race. I'm now into the last 10th of a mile and I sprint to the imaginary line for a 5:38 last mile! Boom!
What a reeeeeeally great session. I was ecstatic as I warmed down in the baking sunshine. I felt physically and mentally strong, almost revitalised and as if the form from Monday had continued. I feel so much better now than I did a couple of weeks ago. Roll on tomorrow for some Hill Reps on Ilkley Moor with the club!