Mental hurdles... Or just the heat?

[Madmick]

Felt good today after yesterday's 1hr, so went out for 5k. Eager to practice pacing myself.

Plan was to run faster than 4:30 for the first 3.2 km, then pick it up to about 4:20 for the last 1.8. Reason being that on race day I want to try and set out pretty easy at the beginning two miles, pick it up slightly for the next 2, and hopefully have something in the tank to finish like that or even have the guts to go a bit faster for the finish...

So all went pretty well, though I think speeding up to 4:20 in the middle session might be a bit much as I was feeling it a bit and too aware that there was a long way to go. So, maybe somewhere between 4:20 and 4:25 would be a better bet to increase the odds of finishing strong.

Finished at 21:42, the fastest I've run a recorded 5k and was still moving and though not exactly 'comfortable' suspect that this is how I should be feeling at this point... Anyway what I'm learning is that I don't have enough experience yet to know how I'm going to do next week based on these sessions. I think I've got a good shot at it, but am by no means a certainty at sub 45.

Here are my splits:

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/112880441

Mick

[Madmick]

Fartlek session done today. All good. Easy 30-40 for Tomorrow. Thursday you suggested 6*1min fast/1min slow.

What do you mean by fast? Slow?

Mick

[TheEd]

1 minute at anticipate race pace followed by 1 minute easy running

6 x 1 minute fat with 1 minute slow

session aimed at mental sharpening and preparation towards event

enjoy

TheEd

[Madmick]

Ueda 10k completed, October 8.

Time of 43:54. Delighted to get in sub-45. Plan was to start and keep first 3.5km at 4:25-4:30. Not much problem doing that and decided against speeding up for the next 3.5, so kept at that pace through the first 5km's.

Rounding the cone on the return 5, there was a slight downhill so the 6th was pretty quick and was able to keep my pace between 4:15 and 4:20 on the last km.

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/120229043

Great result and owe a large part to the plan I followed from your site. 2 cycles were enough it seems. Could have probably gone faster but my lack of experience kept me on the conservative side. And having the GPS watch to pace myself was a big, big advantage.

So what now? Reluctant to go through the same cycle again, particularly with no race to speak of as a motivator. Want to keep running, so what would you suggest?

Thanks for everything.

Mick

[TheEd]

congrats Mick .. you could look at the sub 40 program structure to see how you can adapt to that schedule and we can change the pace of the sessions to suit you

no rush and no expectations should work well

TheEd