Prepare to Succeed

Tuesday got away from me.  Holidays coming, family visiting, an interval workout.  In spite of the continuing unseasonably cold weather in Colorado Springs, it was a very nice day.  But when I checked the thermometer in the morning and it showed 13 degrees outside, I decided at that point in time I wasn't going to run on the track, but would be doing the day's intervals on the treadmill.

The week 15 FIRST Key Workout #1 (interval workout) was a straight forward 4 by 800 meters.  About 20 seconds per mile faster than week 16's mile repeats.  The biggest difference between this week and last week was that I took some time to prepare mentally before getting on treadmill this week.  My preparation involved had two components.

First I reviewed how I was likely to feel during each interval.  The first is always the worst.  Maybe I don't warm up fully, but in any case the first one always leaves me feeling like there is no way I could do that again.  I made a mental note that that is how I would feel.  Then the second interval is generally the easiest. My blood and heart are pumping and the when the second one starts the pace never seems as bad as what I remembered the first one to be like.

In this workout, having completed the second interval, I have hit the half way point - and after doing the easiest one.  The psychology of the workout starts to turn in my favor.  All that is left is to complete two more.  The third one is going to start to hurt, but once it is done, I am 3/4 of the way complete and there is only one to go.  Once the last one starts, there is only a few minutes of discomfort left and then the workout has been successfully completed.

The second thing I did, was to increase the cost of failure.  Once I got in to the first interval, I hit the 1/4 mile mark and had a similar thought as I did last week when I hit the half way point:  the pace is too fast.  In fact, it seemed about right for a 1/4 mile.  But definitely too fast for a 1/2 mile.  That's when I started with a positive statement, followed by a review of consequences of failing:

You can do this.  If you don't complete this workout, you will waste the entire week of training.  And if you can't do this workout, then you aren't fit enough to do the program which means you ARE NOT capable of training for a Boston qualifying marathon time.

Sound a bit dramatic?  When I get in to intervals, my mind is pretty ruthless.  It gets very creative in thinking up perfectly rational reasons why it would be okay to slow down or to stop.  Kind of like waving a tray of deserts in front of someone on a diet, my mind always seems to come up with very attractive reasons for why it would be okay, just this one time, to back off.  You may remember I fell for it last week, in backing off the pace a few seconds a mile.  So to combat this ruthless temptress of a mind, I came prepared with counter arguments for why it was absolutely critical to execute the plan.

Between the two strategies, I completed the workout.  Emotionally, it went pretty much as I anticipated.  One thing I want to take into the next interval workout is to remember that the rest period before the last interval doesn't seem long enough.  It is the one rest period where it feels like I haven't fully recovered - that I'm not ready to start the next interval.  Remembering that I will feel that way and remembering that I can do it anyway, will be a good addition to my advanced mental preparation.

Today is strength training and another dance with the heavy bag.  I will remember to take both rings off today.  Not sure how the areas will do that had blistered, but I know a sure way to find out.