I’ve started up running with Gill again on Thursday mornings before work.  I meet her at 630 and it’s a good way for me to make sure I get out of bed for a good 5 mile run, and I get good chat with her too.  Her aim is to improve her speed, and I’m happy to help (plus she gets a good chat with me!)

Last week was our first Thursday morning run in a while.  Last year we had been doing them (5 mile runs) and she was usually getting between 46 – 48 minutes for our Winter Series route (see detail here). We did a few speed sessions where we did one minute intervals where she got it below 45, but her steady runs were usually above 45 minutes, or closer to 46 minutes (45:51 being her fastest time).

It’s been interesting seeing how she runs, what her limits are and to see her push herself when she wants to.  One thing I noticed about her runs last year was that her splits over the 5 mile run were quite similar – faster in the first and last mile, slower on the 2^nd and 3^rd mile and faster again on the 4^th mile.

Well… one year on and after a break from running with me (she’s doing more Metafit, Spinfit and Cycling now, and has lost a wee bit of weight too)… she’s now smashing her PBs for 5 miles and on top of the she’s clocked up two negative splits on the last two runs we’ve been out on – each mile getting a little bit faster – hill and all.  🙂

Today she did her first 5 miles at an average pace under 9 minute miles – she did it in just over 44 minutes!  Even faster than when we did speed work.  I’m very impressed with how she’s done and it just shows how a little rest from running, as well as some cross training and a bit of weight loss can help improve your running speed.  She’s done really well and I’m really enjoying running with her again. 🙂

See the comparison from this weeks run to last weeks, below:

Summary