So now that you've already committed I get a chance to complain. And what I'm complaining about this week is pretty much the same thing I was complaining about last Wednesday. Sore legs.
There not sore this week from doing a measly four stride-outs like last week when I was soft. This week those four stride-outs were just the appetizer. The main course was so much more special than 1k reps. We got to do as many 200m reps as our little hearts desired in 45 mins.
I've done this set before. Many, many times. And I don't actually mind it normally. But this week it was kind of special. I got to have my own personal trainer/sergeant major/crazy dictator run with me to gently encourage me to give it my all.
Somehow one of my squad buddies had misunderstood something Coach Chris had said. Either that or they were in league against me and wanted to see me suffer. And knowing Coach Chris it's hard for me to discount that option. My personal torturer thought that he was tasked with pushing me on every rep and that at all costs we were meant to stay together.
And stay together we did. Despite my numerous attempts to shake him. I tried to palm him off to other runners. I tried dragging my feet and whining so he'd get sick of hanging back. I tried pleading with his wife to help. But I've never met a man with more tenacity and ability to ignore a complaining woman. Every rep, he was there. Just in front of me. Yelling at me to stay on his shoulder.
It wasn't so bad for about the first ten reps but when I got into double digits there was significant pain. Sure I could have faked a toilet stop. Or an injury. Or I could have hidden behind a tree (although I'm pretty sure he would have sniffed me out because he has to have a bit of terrier in his DNA). But I didn't do any of these. Yay me for that small victory!
And the reason I didn't give up is because I'm a runner and we just don't give up when the going gets tough. And even though I may have whinged, complained and doubted my ability to finish, somewhere deep inside I knew that if I could survive that session I would be stronger mentally and physically. And if I did get to puke-point I'd know exactly where to aim.
So thanks Tom for the session yesterday. It was great. I think.