It really was a truly rubbish day at work today. Too many fcuktards doing my head in to put it mildly.
On the train home, I was trying to decide what training session I should give myself tonight. Go for a run, hit the Gym again, maybe the bike. Or maybe another brutal brick session...that would be just the ticket.
Got home, quickly got changed and set the turbo up just outside the front door.
Again, a couple of objectives for the turbo. Keep the cadence as high as I could and the speed above 20mph...
The legs were going to fill with lactic acid. I knew that. Thats standard. The pain comes afterwards in the run. No firm objective for the run, just an estimated 9 min/mile pace for the 10k. Yes, 10k. First ever 10k in a brick session for me. Have only ever done 5k before and that hurt enough.
Anyhow, nothing like a challenge and throwing yourself in the deep end. Swim or sink...
Average Cadence 98rpm, Average Speed 21.2mph (in 28:18), Average HR 146bpm. Got to be bloody happy with that.
Then it was a quick 3 minute turnaround, mainly changing out of the Sidi's into the Glycerin 10s, unhooking Hayley from the turbo and quickly bringing everything indoors before setting the alarm, quickly putting on the running belt with bottle and locking the front door.
The legs felt bloody heavy. They were buzzing. Or were they throbbing. They didnt feel like this the last time I done a brick session! I started running and the legs didnt feel all there to be quite honest.
Then disaster. I felt pretty good. The legs felt strange, almost as if I was floating and my running stride felt really bouncy then bang. I was on the floor. It happened so quickly. My brain couldnt have been quite computing the speed of the legs and I just lost my balance. I knew I was going over but there was nothing I could do. Although it happened quickly, the fall went in slow motion if you know what I mean. It was like a clip from that old film Matrix. I managed to roll as I hit the floor and didnt do too much damage apart from leave the skin from my elbow on the pavement.
I just happened to fall just as a runner and cyclist were coming the other way and they both stopped to help me up and ask if I was ok. The shame. For a split second, I didnt know where I was or what I was doing. Was my name Hugo Lloris? I dusted myself down, told the two guys I was fine and off I went again. I was shaking but I think it was the best thing I could have done. Funnily enough, the first thing that went through my mind was to pause the Garmin, which I seemed to have done in mid fall lol. You can see on the pace chart that my pace suddenly died in the first 400 yards. Now you know why.
The next 1-2 miles I was toying with the idea of cutting the run short and looping back but the strong side of the brain won over the weak side and I carried on to complete the full 10k. It was the hardest 10k I'd run in a while. I felt like I was on the edge and didnt have much left in reserve but then thats what happens when you do a brick session. Its all about taking yourself to the edge into that pain barrier.
An hour later, after a hot bath and some dinner, the legs feel like lead. I'll give them a quick roll on the roller before bed and again in the morning then will assess how they feel tomorrow before deciding whether to run with the Plums tomorrow evening.
Great session though, despite the fall. Always knew I'd get road rash at some point but never expected to get it when out running. Just typical of my luck :)
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