Time Trial-ling
Time Trials are quite popular here in South Africa, with many people believing in their ability to increase strength and speed. I’m not one of those people, I believe focused speedwork or hillwork is more effective in increasing speed. I still enjoy time trials though, and they are great in determining “where you are” with regard to fitness or speed.
So last night I headed out to run a time trial, a last flurry of the legs before Comrades. The goal was to run around 17:15, just under 3:30 min/km. That would be a 10 second PB.
I get to the start after a 10 minute warm up, thinking about a 3:25 first km split. The splits were:
- 3:27 – Good start
- 3:26 – Still feeling good, although I’m breathing heavily now.
- 3:21 – Great split, worked hard. HR up to 190 now.
- 3:28 – Traditionally when I lose the most time, so I worked hard here.
- 3:26 -Â Excellent finish, but exhausted.
Total time: 17:10. Average HR was 183, maxed out at 191.
Very happy with the run, I know it’s only 5km, but it puts me in a good frame of mind for Comrades.
