What drives a runner to
keep running? I’m not sure. Some do it to keep fit, some because they
are set on achieving a new PB or love the competitiveness of the sport,
some just enjoy the sense of freedom, maybe, from just hopping out the
door for a quick few miles in the country and the fresh air. Some, like
me, might have just got used to that feeling of tiredness in the legs
after a good workout and don’t feel quite right if they don’t get that
‘fix’. I’ve also noticed that, though I get satisfaction from holding a
good pace over distance, I get more of a buzz from feeling like I can
run flat out, putting in a sprint finish at the end of a run. A
competitive race isn’t as fun unless I find the energy to sprint the
last stretch, digging deep at the end. But then I heard about the Monday
and Tuesday sessions. I had the bonus of not even having to run the
first 9.5km of a 10km to put me in position for a sprint! Superb! But
then came an even more enticing challenge…….The Yeovil Open.
I have been lent a good
book by Danny Symington about training. It talks of base periods and,
within, challenge training sessions that can help to build up a base
level of fitness in a training programme. Selecting challenges, such as
multi-day treks and day-long cycle rides, can help add spice to a
training routine as well as improve muscular endurance or general
fitness. So, always trying to mix things up and put my own slant on a
good idea, I attended the Yeovil Open with the goal in mind of competing
in every track event: 80m sprint (two heats); 150m; 300m; 400m; 1k; and
the 3k. And to top it all off, I tried my hand at shot put too! Needless
to say, I came last in all but one event. But it was a great experience,
sprinting for all I was worth. And now I’ve added a few more distances
to my list of PBs and have yet more goals to achieve (to shave a minute
off my 3k time and get under 3minutes for the 1k!).
As I left, I was asked by a
local Yeovilite to shout up about the Yeovil Open series to all my
fellow runners at Wimborne AC, to encourage more to come. So I say to
all out there who read this, come along in the new year and try some
sprinting! Or even better yet, take on the Yeovil Track ‘Heptathlon’
Challenge, for which my collective time was 17 mins and 50 secs. Hurrah!
Guy Thompson
