Training the Brain

150m uphill as fast as I can run.  Focusing on my form, and aiming to maintain a constant speed.  The  first one always goes well.  6:25 pace.  The second one goes well too.  I'm definitely breathing hard at the end, but by the time I walk down the hill to start my next interval, my breathing has slowed. The third one hurts, but I'm embracing the pain and maintaining my effort.  The hard breathing lasts a little longer as I walk down the hill.  The fourth one really hurts, but I notice that I've managed to maintain the feeling of good form and going fast the whole time up the hill.  One caveat.  As I hit the finish, I immediately bend over with my hands on my knees for a moment, in order to catch my breath and start the process of recovering as I walk down the hill.  I get to the start and my breathing is better, but slightly labored.  I'm wondering if this will be my last interval.  I start measured and it gets harder a little sooner.  With about 10-15m to go, I can feel my legs start to rebel, forcing me to up my effort, all the while embracing the discomfort that I feel.  I manage to maintain my 6:20 pace, but I'm breathing harder at the end, and once again, bend over, with my hands on my quads for a few seconds.  I think I can do one more, I think as my breathing labors and I start down the hill, though this is almost certainly my last interval.  I reach the bottom, I'm close to breathing normally, and I start anew.  My legs start out feeling fine, my breathing picks up quickly and I start breathing every second step halfway up the hill.  With about 20-30m to go, the light switch controlling my legs flickers, my brain must override that feeling, which it does, as I somehow maintain my pace to the finish.  Wow! Another interval at 6:20 pace.  But, I'm done.  I'm breathing quite hard as I walk down the hill to catch my breath. When I get to what would have been the start of yet another interval, I'm still breathing hard, although it's at least starting to slow down.  I slowly walk up the hill, comforted by the fact that I've completed six intervals.  One of my better efforts for this workout, considering that my paces were all right around 6:20 pace.  Strava will show that one of these was my fastest effort up the hill since I began doing this workout.  My brain is beginning to understand what it needs to do, especially when the light switch that controls my legs starts flickering on and off.  Push hard, breath hard, embrace the discomfort.  It's ok.  Training the Brain.