Quote Originally Posted by mr brightside View Post
Perception of 'effort put in' it is something i dwell on a lot. When i could run a race properly i was a master at being in oxygen debt coming downhill, which gives you a different idea of what real pain is and reminds you how hard you can actually push it in other areas. Some of the interval sessions i used to do if i didn't bother with a race would cripple me now. Learning to turn it up to 11 is something i used to focus on a lot, the more you do it the easier it gets.
I agree with this. Occasionally I like to flog my guts out when training. I think it helps in terms of fitness. It also helps you know your limits better - when you're racing hard you can say to yourself "well it's not as bad as Tuesday's training session". I'm amazed that some very good runners don't go with this, and have heard "train, don't strain". I'm heartened by the fact that Kenny Stuart used to advocate very hard training, and he wasn't bad.