Intervals: 7 Sets by 650 M @ 3:50/K Pace.

I tried something that I had never done before. It's interval training consisting of seven sets of 650 M with the target time of 2:29. This is equivalent to running one kilometer at 3:50/K pace. My usual target in interval training is 4:00/K, so it's way faster than the pace I'm used to running at.  This training session wasn't originally planned. But after giving myself a full rest on Monday following the massive intervals and double training on Sunday, I felt strong enough to do something challenging. Even if I had fatigued myself, I would still have had four more days for recovery. That's more than enough. So I went ahead and did it.

Although my target time was 2:29, I couldn't make it right from the first lap. I didn't realize how hard it was until I actually did it. My heart sank in dismay. But I carried on. In the first lap I started off too fast and went out of breath toward the end, so in the second lap I kept my speed in check and saved energy for a final kick. I finished 3 seconds faster. I preferred this approach to the first one. I stuck to it for the following three laps. When the 5th lap was over, I felt so exhausted that I wanted to take a longer rest, like three minutes. But the last moment I decided not to, because I didn't want to kill the intensity of the training.

The time in the 6th set was as bad as that in the first set. I was afraid I would continue to slow down till the end. But I mustered up all of my will power to forcefully press on right from the start and in the final stretch kicked even in a state of oxygen debt.  I finished in 2:25, the best time of all, and well under the original target of 2:29. So after all it IS possible. All I need to do is to increase the number of successful sets.

The laps in the session today are shown below:
1st: 2:36.92 
Rest: 2:00.47
2nd: 2:33.05
Rest: 2:00.45
3rd: 2:35.02
Rest: 2:00.40
4th: 2:33.42
Rest: 2:00.24
5th: 2:32.76
Rest: 2:00.43
6th: 2:36.36
Rest: 2:00.22
Last: 2:25.28
Total 4.55 K: 29:55.02 

For the footwear for the training tonight see the picture below: