New Shoes, Hill Sprints & A Bit of Proper Speed 👟⛰️🔥

Quiet Wins, Lighter Feet & Playing the Long Game ⚖️🏃‍♂️

800s Track Day: Finding the Feel (and Locking It In) 🏟️🔥

Sunburn Dodged, Legs Unloaded & a Sneaky Double 🌞🏃‍♂️

Easy Miles, Belly Laughs & Zero Watch Checks ☀️🏃‍♂️😂

TL;DR
8×800m at 5k pace with 90s rest, first rep used to dial it in, everything after run almost entirely on feel, average pace landed around the high-3:30s and felt controlled, smooth, and confidence-boosting.

The run
Track session today: 8×800m at 5–10k pace, choosing the 5k end. Ninety seconds rest between reps. 

Because I’ve got a recent 5k race in the legs where I averaged 3:47min/km, I wanted to feel that same 5k pace on the track, not just guess. So for the first 800m only, I deliberately used my watch as a reference. I ran it at 3:45/km, purely as a tuner — breathing, rhythm, posture, effort. Once that clicked, the watch became mostly irrelevant.

From rep two onwards, I just chased the feel of that pace — and almost immediately settled quicker without forcing it. The running felt smooth and sustainable, not desperate or strained. No tricks needed, no form panic, just sitting in the rhythm.

Here are the splits exactly as they happened:
	•	Rep 1: 3:45 (pace tuner)
	•	Rep 2: 3:42
	•	Rep 3: 3:42
	•	Rep 4: 3:42
	•	Rep 5: 3:38
	•	Rep 6: 3:41 (brief concentration lapse)
	•	Rep 7: 3:38
	•	Rep 8: 3:36 (gave it a nudge to finish)

Once that initial tuning rep was done, I eventually settled into ~3:38/km, which honestly surprised me in the best way. Even the rep where I lost focus didn’t fall apart — it just reminded me how important staying present is.

What stood out most was how this session felt. No pain. No grinding. No fighting the pace. I found the rhythm quickly each time and just sat in it. I didn’t need to shorten stride, pump arms, force knee drive, or mentally wrestle myself through the reps.

I only briefly stopped and bent over after the 7th rep, and even then it was just a few seconds. Compared to last week’s track session where I was properly gassed, this felt calm and controlled.

Running 800s like this — on feel, with consistency, and without distress — feels like a really good place to be. The pace is starting to feel normal, and that’s a very encouraging feeling to run home with.

179 Training Load
-- from COROS
📈 3:11:35 Marathon prediction
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Tom Wallis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇳🇿

800s Track Day: Finding the Feel (and Locking It In) 🏟️🔥

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New Shoes, Hill Sprints & A Bit of Proper Speed 👟⛰️🔥

Quiet Wins, Lighter Feet & Playing the Long Game ⚖️🏃‍♂️

800s Track Day: Finding the Feel (and Locking It In) 🏟️🔥

Sunburn Dodged, Legs Unloaded & a Sneaky Double 🌞🏃‍♂️

Easy Miles, Belly Laughs & Zero Watch Checks ☀️🏃‍♂️😂

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