10km Fartlek - atawhai walkway

OMFG!!!!! I am sorry but there is just no other way to explain this or express this walk!!!!!!

I dread my fartleks and kickdowns......cause I know how hard they are and how much they hurt. But funny thing, after you finish you are on such a high that you wonder why you dreaded it so much. Today was one of those days.

I had decided that I would try something different - instead of using one of my out and back 10km courses, that I would try to find a short 500m stretch and just go up and down on that. I picked the atawhai walkway for two reasons. 1st - its nice and almost flat and 2nd - no houses, road crossings or people. I feel sort of silly going up and down on a little stretch and having people stare at me wondering what on earth I am doing.

I waited until 10am so my breakfast could settle and so that it would warm up a little. Its a beautiful sunny day with NO breeze and about 15 degs. Perfect. I started out on the walk way and got my 1st km fast out of the way, I then continued up the walkway for 500m and turned....I used this 500m for my up and backs as it was nice and smooth, flat with no rail way crossing or road crossing. I was feeling pretty good and did my first km in 5:20. Wow, this might actually be a quick one. I turned and returned back for the recovery. I found that it made the walk go very quick and actually almost made it easier....as you were only ever thinking of the next 500m and focusing on that. I got to 5km in 28:12 and started wondering if I had gone out way to fast and could I continue at this pace. I did notice I was starting to slow up a little. My recoveries were getting 1 or 2 seconds slower each time.

I had the company of a Council worker how was riding a big mower. He was mowing along the edge of the walkway and he starting racing me in the big mower each time he saw me coming back at speed. He joked that it was unfair that I was still beating him and I was only walking. But I am sure he was finding it very entertaining. He came up when I finished and said he would have been carted away in an ambulance if he had tried to do half of what I was doing.

Any way.......with each up and back I would count it down......3 more to go ... 2 more to go..... and then it was the famous "last one"........we all know that "last one" feeling.....the sense of relief its almost over, achievement that you have done it and that moment when you let yourself calculate what your finish time just "might" be. Well that's what I do. I gave it my all on the last 500m......my legs were tired, my lungs were tight and my thoat burning from breathing so hard. But I so wanted a good result for today. Well I got it.......................I stopped my watch and let out a huge "OMFG!!!!! yahooooo" did a little happy dance ......

My time was 57:11..........................a pb for 10km by a MINUTE!!!!!!! Thank god tomorrow is a rest day!!! yayayayaya happy dance and high five!!!

heres my data all recorded in 500m segments......my recoveries were all around the 3:04 mark....... which is good. Avg heart rate 155 max heart rate 176!

10km Fartlek - atawhai walkway