Double Training Part 2: 3 Sets by 6 K Tempo Run @ 4:55/K

Oct. 14, 2019

Jog 880 M: 5:22.09
Rest: 1:00.66
1st 6 K: 29:40.70
Rest: 30.70
2nd 6 K: 29:09.42
Rest: 1:04.47
Last 6 K: 29:18.83
Jog 880 M: 6:06.10
Total 19.76 K: 1:42:12  

Running volume is key to success. So I split my daily training into two parts, one in the morning, and the other at night. This way I can reset my motivation in the second session, being able to run a longer distance than when I try to run the same distance in one go.

Earlier today I ran 16.76 K. Tonight I aimed at running minimum 12 K, but ideally 18 K. On top of that I aimed to run faster. The target pace is 4:55 per K.

I jogged to the start area, which is a corner of a large park. From there I run a 6 K course three times with a short rest between sets. If I return in 29:30, then the target is made.  

The first lap was 29:40.70, 10 seconds out of the target. I was originally planning to rest for a minute, but since the time was worse, I decided to leave for the next set only after resting for 30 seconds. 

I returned in 29:09.42, more than 20 seconds inside the target. While running my second lap, I had a minor patch and wanted to slow down. But then if I did, I would fail to meet the goal twice in a row, and I stuck to the brink pace I was running at, telling myself that I could call it quits after the second set. This is all mental trick to keep myself motivated.

Once you return, the target is achieved, and then are allowed to rest awhile, your motivation comes back to you, and you soon find out that you are ready to go again. So I went for the last set.

Breathing became only slightly hard. Leg joints started hurting a little. Your body feels a little heavy. And you feel like changing a 6 K tempo run to just a 6 K jog. But as the goal approaches, you get an adrenaline rush and pain starts subsiding. I pressed on, corning an intersection like on a rail and hammering through the last stretch in track mode. I returned in 29:18.83, easily inside the target.

So I did three 6 K tempo runs to cover 18 K, and jogging to and back from the park is 880 M by 2, so it's 1,760 M. So tonight I ran 19.76 K. I ran 16.76 K in the morning, so today's total running distance is 36.52 K.

In the past if I ran more than 30 K in one day, I couldn't move an inch that night. Now I am almost pain-free. I feel I have become stronger.