Exhausting climbs and pert behinds

Hill Session – 30 mins
Primrose Hill

Yes, it was back to Primrose Hill for more punishment on the slopes. The training plan said a 30 minute session was called for, including 8 hill climbs with jog recoveries in between. The early morning Serpentine Club session seemed a bit keen to me, so I did this session alone after my hangover had receded.

I decided to run down to Primrose Hill – forgetting that it’s actually quite a long way across Kentish Town and Chalk farm – so I must have done around 20/25 mins effort before I’d even started. I chose a steep route up the side of the hill which took about 1 minute hard effort to get up and a similar path coming back down, with a short, flat section at the bottom for jog recovery, making the descents last about 2 minutes. 8 laps needed, plus a bit of a jog at the end to complete the 20 minutes.

It was a pretty tough session. I felt like a bit of an idiot running up and down the same paths while everyone watched. There were a few other people at it, so I wasn’t totally alone. I gave myself a 2 minute break after 4 repeats and then completed the set.

On one ascent, a ‘hilarious’ woman who clearly has ambitions in stand up shouted “only a little further!”. I wanted to turn around and kick her in the shins, but I kept going. I’ll be the one laughing when I have a behind like David Beckham and she’s pulling on her elasticated, cellulite-hiding, fat girl pants.

At the end of the session, I snapped the picture you see above, took a long, slow jog down to the corner of the park and hopped on the bus home (felt I’d done enough for one day and want to keep a bit in store for tomorrow’s 11 miler.)

Worth noting that today was the first run out of a new pair of trainers I have bought. They are Asics Kayanos, they cost £85 in the sale (down from £110) and I bought them from the same sports shop in Paddington that I got my other pair of Asics from. I will steadily break them in over the next few weeks, alternating them with my other pair so that I always have a clean and dry pair of trainers to put on. Most runners do this I am told.

As I get closer too 22 April, I will decide which pair I feel most comfortable in on my long runs, and they will become my ‘race shoes’. It will be a bit like X-Factor. Feel free to vote for one pair or the other by leaving a comment!

Off to eat Naomi’s broccoli pasta – have to be at Vauxhall by 9.30am tomorrow to meet Stephen and head to Richmond.

I am as sure as a person can be that it’s going to rain.

Shoe Factor: Asics GT-2110 on the left, Asics Kayano on the right