Clouds over the Alps but a great day to be outdoors

I’ve never done sprint training before, but have often thought how inviting and perfect that long stretch of grass is in our garden. So today, I donned the sneakers and went about giving myself an earache and nearly twisting an ankle.

The ‘track”, which is about 80m long, isn’t flat at all, with lots of holes and divots, from who knows what, making it harder than running on a road or flat track. I suppose it could be like trail running but without the rocks and roots to bring you undone. The grass was quite soft too, from yesterday’s rain, which possibly made it a bit harder. (Can you tell I’m looking for any excuse? I’m appalled by how hard it was!)

With the timer on my MapMyRun app going, it took me, on average, about one minute to walk the 80m, at a very leisurely pace, and then 20 seconds to run back. I did this for 17 minutes, which means I sprinted 12 times. I haven’t sprinted like that – full-on, flat out running as fast as possible – since, well, most likely, primary school. Ahh, fitfor15in15 is stretching my boundaries!

Afterwards I felt a bit woozy; I still feel a bit odd more than half an hour later. I must have looked an absolute treat too, sprinting and wobbling all over the place, trying not to roll an ankle but focussed on making it to the end. And of course, like any kid in a running race, I had to touch the road before turning around, and touch the caravan at the other end to make it feel legit.

I walked from here to the bitumen road just before the white building …

… and then ran from this spot back to the caravan underneath the trees

Now that I know it can be done, I’ll definitely do it again. I was aiming for 20 minutes, but had to stop – it felt like both middle ears were going to explode. Does anyone ever feel that pain after hard-ish exercise? I’ll try for 20 minutes next time and hopefully up the walking pace a bit too.

Do you do sprint training? Do you have any tips for a novice?

Wishing you a wonderful day.