Interval Training at Oda Field: The 5th Rep and the Devil's Whisper
Since June 20th was the eve of the summer solstice, there was still a faint hint of natural light at Oda Field at 7:00 PM, putting me in a softer mood than usual.
With a pleasant breeze blowing, I approached this session in high spirits: 1000m x 7 interval runs.
The target pace was 3:40 (88 seconds).
The goal of this training was to improve VO2 max, which is truly brutal on the heart and lungs.
Although I was prepared for it, by the 4th rep, I was already hearing the devil's whisper saying, 'Completing this is impossible. Why don't you just take a break?'...
Completely defeated by that whisper, I dropped out of the course with 400m left in the 5th rep and switched to a recovery jog...
But skipping that 400m actually ignited my fighting spirit. I chanted the spell to banish the devil, saying, 'I'll finish the last two reps. I can do it!', and ended up running them perfectly.
What's more, I even picked up the pace to 3:30 for the 7th rep and finished feeling great.
Though, I suppose I was just following the pacer.
I know it's coming, but the devil always seems to appear around the 5th rep of a 7-rep interval session, the 17km mark of a half marathon, or the 35km mark of a full marathon.
Psychologically speaking, it's said that the 70-80% mark is where you feel the most pain.
It's a point where you're almost done, but it's still too far to say 'almost there.' Once you hit the 90% mark, the 'last spurt' effect kicks in like a powerful drug, allowing you to push through even when it's tough.
So, let's prepare some rewards for the 70-80% mark in our races to defeat the devil!
Come to think of it, general registration for the Tsukuba Marathon and the Otawara Marathon starts on June 25th at 8:00 PM.
I can't believe the registration times are the same.
The race dates are close, the venues are close, and I can feel the silent pressure from both organizers saying, 'Decide which one you're doing by this date' (lol).
I haven't decided which one to enter yet, but I plan to adjust my training perfectly for my first full marathon of the season.
I think it's about time for all of you to register for something too, so let's keep building up good training together, even though the hot days continue!
