I feel I have become a stronger version of myself, because I accomplished something that I would never have dreamed of achieving--running 6 sets of 1 K all under 4:10. It feels great. But it was never easy. My mind was heavy just at the prospect of tremendous discomfort that was inevitable once the training started.
The pressure kept building up while warming up, and as the start area came nearer and nearer, my mind grew heavier and heavier. But all hard training must come to a start. After resting for a minute and a half after warming up, I left for the first set!
Warm Up 3.2 K: 20:00.45
Rest: 1:30.27
As soon as I started off, I regretted starting the whole thing. Why am I doing this? I have an early start tomorrow. I have three 90-minute seminars back to back. I need tons of energy for them. Why should I be burning so many calories that have nothing to do with my immediate work-related priority? All this inner talk, of course, is because of the discomfort resulting from running at the pace far faster than the race pace that I'm used to. My weak side says, "OK. It's just not a good day today. I'll call it a day after this one set."
When I finish it, though, I realized the cause of all this inner negative campaign. I was a lot after that the target pace. While my target was 4:10, my actual lap was 3:55. No wonder it was tough.
Now that I knew I could ease the pace by almost 15 seconds, I felt like I could go on.
The second set, though, wasn't as easy as I though it would be, mainly because I was still under the influence of the ridiculously high pace of the first set. But I finished under the target anyway. And this motivated me to go for another.
Though all of the following sets remained tough, a brief rest after each fast run give me the time to recharge my willpower batteries. About half an hour after I started it, I completed all six sets without giving it up, and to my pleasant surprise all under the target.
<Intervals: 6 Sets by 1 K @4:10>
1st: 3:55.30
Rest: 1:00.66
2nd: 4:06.45
Rest: 1:00.01
3rd: 4:06.85
Rest: 1:00.08
4th: 4:06.41
Rest: 1:00.23
5th: 4:02.29
Rest: 1:00.06
6th: 4:00.56
The game was not over, though. To be honest, I wanted to go straight home to hit a shower and crash! But the greatest benefit of interval training does not come directly from the training itself, but rather from the subsequent long slow run. So I dragged my feeble body for another 20 minutes around my neighborhood, feeling tumultuous exhaustion in both of my legs, but at the same time enjoying the breathing that's far easier when running at a pace far more comfortable than during intervals.
Warm Down 3.2 K: 20:00.90
Total 12.4 K: 1:10:56
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