FEAR
It can cripple you or make you stronger!
Coming off an amazing weekend of running, where I completed 40KM's, I took Monday off to rest and get ready for my final 5 weeks of training.
Since I started incorporating speed training into my workout schedule 4 weeks ago, I have played around with doing different track workouts. After reading about running mile repeats to help with Marathon training, I decided to give it a try. I researched how I should prepare for them and what my goal time should be. I have done 800M repeats and pyramid workouts but this would be totally different.
Running 4 laps of a 400M track at close to top speed, resting for 2- 2.5 minutes then doing that again for a total of 4 times really started to scare me. I remember how winded I was when I did the Pyramid workout and wondered how I could possibly do 4 mile repeats in 7:33 or less. What scared me most was that even though I have been running for 6 years, I've never done mile repeats before. What if I wasn't able to do more than 1 set? Would that put doubt in my mind about my upcoming race? I started to wonder if it was worth it. I could have fallen back to a program that I was comfortable doing instead of attempting these mile repeats. However, I knew that if I gave into fear, I would have no idea what I'm capable of accomplishing.
I left my house at 5:45 and drove to the track. I went over in my mind how I wanted this workout to look like. As I reached the track I noticed that A) it was still very dark and I could barely see my watch and B) there were sprinklers on the grass infield and I would have to run through some of them as I wanted to stay on the inside lane.
After doing a warm-up lap and some light stretching, the moment had finally arrived to begin the mile repeats. As I started I had to make sure that I didn't go out too fast too soon or my workout would be shot. I tried to keep an even pace and when I completed my first set of 4 laps I noticed that my time was 7:28. I thought to myself, that wasn't too bad and I wasn't too winded. After allowing my heart rate to come down a bit, it was time for set #2. This time I was familiar with what I needed to do and I increased my speed a little bit. As a result, my 2nd set was completed in 7:05. I remember saying to myself, "wow! That was pretty good!"
Don't get me wrong, those were the toughest 2 runs that I have ever completed. However, I noticed that instead of focusing on my fear of the workout I was now focusing on improving my technique. With 2 sets remaining I knew that I was going to complete the workout no matter what. My last two sets were completed in under 7:00 each. To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement. Forget that I had completed my goal because I had overcome an even bigger obstacle and that was FEAR!
I still HATE doing the mile repeats but I no longer fear them because I've done it now. This workout, along with the many others I have experienced during the last 12 weeks, will be bookmarked and taken out during my Marathon if I need to motivate myself during the race.
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