2 x 5min Surges, hill repeats
I attended my first ever PCRG Friday speedwork session this morning to make up for missing out on Tuesday. There were only 13-14 in attendance and I was pleased to see that Azza was there as he is at my level at the moment and would be sure to keep me honest.
A rookie, 'Steve' was also there - having his first session with the PCRG. He had a bit of upper body bulk however and I didn't pay him much notice, figuring he wouldn't be duking it out with Azza and I. So, as Azza and I lead the way into the Gardens for the first surge, it was a surprise to see the rookie overtake us and quickly put 5 metres on us. 'No worries' I thought - 'he'll blow up shortly'. But the rookie impressed by leading the first surge throughout and again taking the lead on the way out for the second surge.Azza and I were in close attendance running around 3:30 pace and I was feeling sluggish, but pretty good considering the recent cold. I started thinking 'Gees - this could be the first rookie to ever lead a whole session if he keeps it up'. Then I thought 'Glenda and the boys won't be too impressed if they find out a rookie had dictated terms to us - I better do something about this!'
As is turned out, the rookie hit the wall about 2:15 into the second surge slowing down drastically as Azza and I passed him just before we made our turnarounds. The rookie dug deep to hold on to Azza and I for a while and I offered him some encouragement 'Think of your goals! You can do it! C'mon!' and then I immediately increased the tempo and dropped him! I ran a ten second negative split back to the Goodwill Bridge and a distressed rookie trailed me home by some distance. Wanting to tighten the screws, I urged Pat to start the hill reps NOW! Pat handed me the markers and I quickly made my way around to the QUT grass hill and powered up, dropping the markers along the way. I was feeling strong now and my aerobic fitness was coming into play as I ran the hills strongly and recovered at a brisk pace downhill. Azza was hot on my heels throughout and the rookie was doing the survival shuffle in the middle of the pack!! I finished of the session feeling great although my recovery time was a little longer than usual - no doubt due to the recent cold.
I complimented 'Steve' afterwards saying that he had put in one of the best PCRG rookie efforts ever and urged him to come along on Tuesday and see how he could back it up.
Now, I should add that I'm not a masochist, but gees, I love ensuring that rookies have a painful initiation to the PCRG!!
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3 comments:
That is terrible thing Matty, that poor Rookie. He was probably intimidated and ran harder than he was able to sustain for a full session - as we all do when we are new and want to impress. I hope he is there again next week to run you down.
Have lots of fun tonight and make sure you drink a glass of red in my rememberance...oh and I think you should have one for the rookie too.
Matty
That was hard but fair and I reckon that you have doubled the chances of him coming back as now he knows that these sessions will be a challenge for him.
If the rookie signs on for the long run, so to speak, Pat will owe you one and you might be able to get away with scaring the begebas out of him again like you did a couple of months ago.
Thanks for the email too.
Great post Matty. I remember my first session leading the pack thinking this isn't so bad, not much competition here. But as you point out, the old timers give you just a little taste before reeling you in & kicking on (thanks for that Gary).
I might be languishing mid-pack cos I'm taking it easy with my knee at the moment. 2 runs in 2 weeks...
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