M'Pempo!!

I appear to have invented a new type of training session - a run that starts as a MP session that evolves into something a fair bit quicker.

I was intending to do my MP session today with an "8 in 10" run, but due to finishing later than planned and having l'Herb who needed to be away by 6 I decided I only had time for 8 miles.

"No matter," I thought, "I'll do 6 in 8" - so duly set off into the gathering gloom at 5pm.  I ran up to the canal and along for a few yards til my watch hit 0.4m then began my effort.  The first mile was 6:44, but I soon realised that I was going to have enough towpath and daylight to do 7m of effort by running to the end of the decent surface past Riddlesden and back to the Tesco road.  I also realised during my second mile that I'd speeded up a bit to 6:40, so I decided to try and run a progressive MP session, by increasing the pace each mile.

The third and fourth miles were both 6:35, so I began to consciously crank it up each time.  By the end I was pushing quite hard, and from looking at the stats the old HR had hit 158, so something over 90% max - but still not eyeballs out, and I guess somewhere around HM pace.

Splits were:

6:44
6:40
6:35
6:35
6:23
6:18
6:11

So a reasonably good acceleration, and you can see from the HR trace below the increase in HR matches the increase in effort (apart from the Garmin nuttiness at the end, which I hope is a blip and not a sign my new strap's gone bonkers).

London tomorrow, so may get a few miles in when I get home, or may have a day off as part of my taperette for Blackpool on Sunday.