Nothing like a deadline...

Since the realization it's six weeks to Richmond, my exercise regime has moved up several gears. And last night, that meant track training at Paddington Recreation Ground.

As I'm told frequently by my physio friend, plodding is not going to get me anywhere fast. To increase fitness or speed, you need strength work (hence the Power Pump class on Sunday) and high intensity training (which I was hoping Paddington would provide).

Listening to the pre-session talk gave me the proper fear. In a nutshell, be aware of faster runners or end up track roadkill. However, once up and running (pun intended) it was fantastic. The session went like this:

6 x 500-metres (at 80% capacity) interspersed with 100-metre walk recovery

4 x 200-metre sprints with 200-metre jog/walk recovery

Warm-up and warm-downs.

I got a bit overexcited during the 200-metres and nearly popped a calf muscle. In fact, they were both like rocks when I got home. A bit of massage seems to have helped and I'll have a go on the foam roller later.

It's easy to see how doing this a couple of times a week could increase your fitness, but the main point being it's just really fun to run really fast - even if the latter is relative.

(Stats: 500 metres - 225 seconds; 200 metres - 45 seconds: Bolt need not fear just yet.)

(Pic: Muscles need protein. Hooray for the English summer.)