2nd January 2007

Heanor Running Club

Speed Work – ‘Pyramids’

4x300m + 2x600m + 1x1200m + 2x600m + 4x300m

Date: 2nd January 2007

Conditions: Cold, Wet

With Christmas and 2006 well out the way it was back into full training in preparation for the Edinburgh and New York Marathons. The last seventeen weeks were base building and now I know I can run a fair distance it is time to get serious, and faster.
We met at Heanor Leisure Centre (HLC) at the usual time and I was surprised at how many turned up. There was nearly twenty of us and from talking to Rob it was the biggest turnout in a while. Me thinks this was down to everyone feeling guilty after a heavy xmas (I know I did far less training than I should have done).
We set out for the one mile warm up to Heanor Gate Industrial Estate (HGIE) and on the way down Rob informed us that we would be doing a ‘Pyramid’ session. Now read the title and just below it is the sets that we did. This was without a doubt the hardest running I have ever done.
We started with 4x300m sets with 1x100m recovery jogs in between. I found these relatively easy but after the final leg we had a 200m jog to the start of the second set. This was 2x600m with a sixty second recovery after each one. After the first one I was absolutely shattered. Like in every other speed workout with the club I told myself there was no way I was going to finish the course, however I pushed through it with the help of the team.
After the second 600m we had a well deserved (and welcomed) ninety second break before starting the 1200 meter lap. After this and another sixty second break we began the trip back down the pyramid and this is where it got really hard. After the second set of 600m I had chronic stitch. We had a short recovery walk back to the start line ready for the final 4x300m.
The final four laps were far easier as the distance seemed far shorter than the middle sets so although I had chronic stitch throughout I felt good and my form and pace were steady throughout.
After the run we had a steady warm down mile back to HLC which gave me a good chance to talk to some of the runners I have not yet met.
In closing this was a really grueling session but no session this hard can be completed without reaping the rewards in future races. I will now begin timing my ‘speed work’ training sessions to measure my improvement.


Positive: Nothing this painful can come without huge benefits.
Negative: This was the hardest running I have ever done.



“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little.”