Why are Intervals SOOOOO Hard?

Running. I love it. and I hate it..... this morning's workout was definitely an example of that love-hate relationship I have with my beloved sport.

Intervals..... you know: work and then rest and repeat again and again and again......

Those evil things that increase your heart rate, make your lungs burn and your legs feel like lead. Good for you... they challenge your fortitude, teach you a new tempo, and help in overall physiology for training.

This morning was another visit to the five-mile loop. Simple... but tempo running was involved.

After two mile warm up... I did 4 x 2 minute tempo run with 1-3 minute recovery.

Why is the first interval always the hardest??? Regardless of the distance or the time, I inevitably look at the stop watch and it says 20seconds. Seriously, only 20 seconds???... I have most certainly been running longer than that... For some reason, when i am running time intervals (as opposed to distance intervals on the track), I struggle with pacing in the first interval. The first one is always the hardest. It never fails.

The second I have gotten the timing down... and I manage to pace myself better.

The third I struggled.......... my legs were saying, HELLO! REMEMBER US! WE WANT A BREAK! THIS IS HARD!!!! but i just keep the mental intensity up there..... driving my arms, keeping my shoulders and facial muscles relaxed. And I survive the third interval, running at the same tempo..

The fourth I fly..... I feel good as this is the last one!!! But of course my body feels like it should collapse at the end..... somehow the pace is similar to the others.

And as hard as these intervals are.... the recovery feels great. I have adopted a method in my recovery segment of NOT WALKING..... in the past, I would walk after the run tempo and I struggled to get moving again. I have found that by not stopping (unless something is wrong) I don't lose my rhythm. It doesn't matter how fast I am moving.... but i am still running... alas the reference to the sprinter's shuffle. This has helped me with how quickly I recover and can move back toward my normal running pace.

And yet, I will continue to perform intervals of different times and distances-- looking forward to work on the track, the intervals will not get any easier.

As I work harder, I will improve my fitness and my ability to work harder longer, run faster and I will push myself harder in the intervals......

And the intervals will continue to be SOOOOOO hard!!!!

Enjoy the run. And challenge yourself!