Most intense, extreme and tiring training session of my life

Last night coach Simba arrived, and I was told that the tough training sessions were about to step up a gear, but I wasn't quite prepared for what was to come Monday morning.
The board telling us the training session for the day said Kazi Mingi, and last time we went here we did mile and 600m reps, so I was expecting something similar this time. However when I arrived after a 30minute warm up, I realised things were going to be different, with all the skipping rops and tyres with rops attached to them set up. I assumed we would be doing some sprint work pulling the tyres behind us. I have done something similar in England doing 4x50m sprints pulling a sledge behind me.
We started off doing some warm up drills, which Coach Simba described as the "starter" for this training session. They were quite tiring, but afterwards I was well warmed up and ready for the "main course" of sprints with the tyres with skipping for recovery. Again we were partnered up, and as there were not enough tyres for everyone, the pairs were split into two groups, with one group going first whilst the other group did some skipping, and then swapping over. I was in the second group. Then as the first group was about to start I found out we were not doing 50m pulling the tyres behind us, but 1 mile. I was shocked. I would be shocked enough to be told I was doing this on smooth grass or a road where the tyre may slid quite easily, but Kazi Mingi is rough, with bumpy tussocks of grass, rocks and, while no big hills, is defintiely not flat either. I was told the main thing to focus on was the running style and strenght. So when it came to my go I put the harness on, and pulled my tyre for 1mile. It was tiring and very tough, and 9.42 minutes must be one of my slowest miles ever, but I had finished just ahead of my partner, and was very pleased, thinking that was a good session. Then I realised that the first group was off agian. We weren't doing just 1 mile pulling the tyre, we were doing 3x1mile pulling the tyre! So I fought hard and managed to go quicker on my second effort, doing 9.16minutes. I was hoping to do the same again one more time. However for my third effort I was given a different tyre. Unknown to me until I started, this one was heavier, and had not harness, meaning I had the rope digging into my hips and abdomen the whole way. I crawled round, but managed to finish in an exhausted 10.56minutes, with my partner miles ahead. I was then told to do one mile without the tyre. The Kenyan athletes definitely went off far quicker than me on this mile, but I was just concentrating on keeping my style going and working the muscles hard, and so finished what must have been the hardest training session of my life. It was a great strength endurance, running technique and aerobic workout, and one I was defintely going to bring into my training back in England (if I can find somewhere to do it!)
Then Coach Simba said it was time for the "dessert" part of the training session, 3x600m (no tyre) fast with 45 second recovery. My body couldn't cope, I just about staggered around the first effort, and then had to stop half way round the second effort. I wish I had finished, but I had reached my limit 100m into the final mile with the tyre, and had nothing left. But all the Kenyan athletes (who I had been keeping up with during track and hill sessions and was holding my own with on the long runs) managed to finish, and were going far quicker than me by the end. So when they say Kenyan athletes don't do strength training, they mean they don't do it Western style in the gym. Instead they do it in a far more extreme and running specific way. Incredible. Though the session had beaten me this time, it has given my a massive insight into a new training method, and I definitley intend to keep using the session back in England (no matter how many funny looks I get). If I can improve my strength endurance to the standard of the Kenyan athletes in the next couple of years, then I can't wait to see how well the races go.
A group of German marathon runners arrived at the centre last week, and watched the end of the session. All they could say was Kenyan athletes are crazy! Maybe, but they are also the best in the world, and perhaps training sessions like this, matched with very long periods of recovery, explain it. Mileage has only been about 60miles a week, but the quality is incredible and very specifically aimed.