This afternoon was windy, with black clouds forming, and I decided to lace up my shoes and go for a speedrun since I haven’t been following my marathon training plan since my ankle sprain happened the week before. My ankle felt better today, but my nose was a bit stuffed and runny. I took a Delcogen, thinking it has paracetamol, which could also help in case my ankle becomes painful mid-run.

Today’s run was fun. We started with a 5-minute warmup, followed by five intervals of 5 minutes at a 10K pace and 2 minutes of rest in between. We’re not focused on speed, pace, or distance covered but on effort instead. The 10K pace should be kept at a 6 out of 10 effort, with 10 being the all-out fastest you can run. While the earlier intervals are for finding the effort and rhythm of the 10K pace so we can settle in and get used to it, the later intervals are more difficult to maintain the same effort as we start getting tired after having run for a while. We might run slower, and the speed might start to break down, but the effort should remain the same. It’s a mental game—the running time is still the same, but you might find it feels longer. The usual 2-minute recovery time seems to fly by so fast; you have to stay calm, keep your heart rate in check, and utilize the time you have for recovery, gathering yourself for the next interval.

This is about running; this is also not about running.

I covered 7.5 km within 47 minutes. My ankle feels alright; I was drenched in sweat. I felt better and stronger, and I’m grateful for this run.