I recently moved abroad with work (from one European country to another) and my running form is suffering! Mainly because I'm one of those runners which responds best to short, hard track intervals done in a group where I'm encouraged or pulled along by faster or same level runners.
I would have thought this was pretty standard and I headed down to the local tracks in search of a group to join.
6 months later, I still haven't found one and am training on my own to get some decent sessions, but can't replicate training with a group/don't push quite hard enough.
To give you some idea of what these coached sessions on the track does here, they will typically spend 1 hour 20 minutes warming up and doing drills, then do something like 3 x 3 x 1000m in 5 mins 20 seconds (yes, you read that right), with a 100m jog recovery and a 400m job between sets. You are quizzed on your 10k time and this strictly rules what group you run in, but I'm 11.28 for 3k (female) and would like to get back to at least 12.30 if I can. But not running that slowly and for that long! The speed is highly regulated and you are not allowed to overtake, and if you get out of breath at all, its commented on that you are running too hard and should move down to a slower group!
I tried a faster group, but after being quizzed on my last 10k time (51 minutes, not fit), was told to go away and join a slower group without actually getting to run, as I wasn't fast enough because their slowest athletes were running 45 minutes. But even there, as far as I could judge from watching, they were still doing this incredibly long warm up thing and then not running particularly hard during their intervals (I'm used to seeing athletes doubled over at the end of reps). Now I have done a 42 minute 10k a few years ago and am more a speed based athlete, so currently running 300m reps in 60s-65s and 600m reps in 2.25-2.30, although not fit, and running 1k reps in 5 mins 20 just does absolutely nothing for me.
I can see me just getting slower and slower the longer I'm over here, whereas all I want to do is try to train decently to get back to my pre-injury form. I've never really encountered anything like it. To be fair, its not a country which produces many good runners, despite the fact that its known for having fit, healthy, slim and active people. Whereas the track I trained at at home regularly produces Olympic competitors and European and World Champions.
Has anyone ever managed to work out how to do this type of training on your own/push yourself hard enough, or even encountered anything this bizarre before?