Tue, Jun 30, 2020 - 19K - 02:30:00
After-Work 3x IKEA 5K Speed Runs (25:41, 28:38, 29:34), 3rd Round with Hannah (30:30)
Hannah arriving at IKEA to run against me for my third 5K has now become a weekly speed training for us, this week Tuesday after work. I got out at Südkreuz this time because of the construction work on the Ringbahn.  
 
During my first two runs it was hard to get any decent speed going and both were slower than last week, 55 seconds slower and 34 seconds slower for my first two runs.  
 
The third run was much better, perhaps since running against Hannah has become increasing competitive and so we have been pushing each other both trying to win. Two weeks ago Hannah and I finished head-to-head, then last week she beat me by almost a minute. This week after I gradually passed her at 2K, she stayed quite close behind me, pushing me to run as strong as I could. I pulled away at the end, finishing over a minute faster than I did last week and beating Hannah by 56 seconds this week, so I recovered the IKEA 5K crown this week. Hannah said she has been doing fewer workouts later, so there we have it: no pain, no gain.  
 
I would like to get my time into the low 24s again and into the 23s, it's always a joy to run light and fast, but I just haven't had the schedule to run twice a week. Regardless, I think if you are just going to run once a week, these speed runs are perfect as they keep you in shape, often I feel my legs recovering for 2-3 days afterward.