A great video that describes wonderfully how awful it feels when you are running a PR time of a short distance. Our protagonist asks two British elite runners Johnny Davies & Mark Pearce to slow jogging their way and help him lower his 10k PR of 37:49.
Here it is:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Vuva4JV48&list=LL&index=7
And here's something I wrote about that subject visualising my next 5k PR at 21:12, shortly after Senjutsu was released. The timings are real and matching with the places I'm describing as I did the round of the park back then to find my anchor points
Weeks before a projected-to-be a Personal Record (PR) run, I will be practicing a combination of meditation and visualisation. This is a century old technique and in sports was brought to wider attention by Michael Phelps. I took my inspiration from him. Phelps used to get mentally prepared for many different scenarios. For instance loosing his googles and still winning the 200m butterfly with a WR in the Olympic final, is said to be achieved because he has worked this scenario by practicing visualisation.
Even the most decorated athlete of all time, Michael Phelps, wasn't immune to problems during races.
www.sportskeeda.com
In any case, since I’m not Phelps and I don’t compete professionally, I work only one scenario, the most common: Pain.
My 5k PR is 23:15 and I want to bring it down by nearly 2minutes before the end of 2022. Since Senjutsu is still fresh, I will be working on a visualisation that involves Senjutsu and I have already started visualising every now and then, months before the actual run. I have marked the places, walked the spots already and know which part of the songs will play and where at the required PR pace.
I’m gonna play the entire Senjutsu CD2 on my earphones from the time I’ll leave home to the finish line. Commuting -warn up will be covered by the first two tracks, race will be covered by the Parchmement & Hell on Earth; where I’ll use the mighty riffs & solos as a mental doping to overcome pain. By the end of CD2, I’ll have run a sub 22 minutes 5k.
Pre-run
Darkest Hour: Leaving from compound & commuting with my bicycle to the Park, AKA The Theatre of Pain.
Death of the Celts: Commuting ends, locking the bicycle, warm up exercises until the solo, then slow warm up running.
The Parchment
Continue the warm up during the slow intro, enter the mighty riff
<1:10 in the song>, press the stopwatch, GO!
The Run
When the moon will rise again -one minute in the run and I’m suffering already.
I see that pillar and entering Dave’s solo, The Mighty Distortion
<5:25 in the song, 4:15 in the run>, 1km
I’m already praying for this to end, looking my watch 4:14 pace, you got it, 5. The mesmerising riffs are delivering you to the zone.
Don’t stop, it will end up soon, no pain.
Meet me theeeere
<9:28 in the song, 8:18 in the run>
I enter the 2k mark, all is blurry now.. I want to up the volume on my earphones, I can’t even reach there, riffs and agony is all there is.
I see the final turn approaching, you’re getting there, 5, don’t stop.
<Slow intro of Hell on Earth, you pass the final turn and 3.2k mark>
Don’t stop now, run run, cross that bridge, 5!
Drums just entered, you’re running on the trees’ shadows now
<2:15 in the song, 13:43 in the run> 3.4 km in the run!
Soon you’ll reach that river, his name is Rubicon, you cross that, 5!
Entering a world of pain and bridge before my eyes.
I wish I could go back will never be the same again
<5:22 in the song, 16:51 in the run>, you are at 4km, passing under the bridge now.
4 minutes to go.. GO!
You bring your wrist close to see the watch, all is blurry; blurry sounds mixed with blurry images and pain, you are breathing heavily and loud.
You can’t see, you are dying. Your muscles burn and your veins pump battery acid.
You dance on the graves who bled for us, do you really think they’ll come for us..
<7:30 in the song, 18:58 in the run>
Love in anger, life in danger… Enter the mighty solo.
<8:24 in the song, 19:52 in the run>
You can see the finish line now, 200m to go, you can do it, 5!
Go now, run, run your guts out.. Now run some more!
Love in anger, life in danger…
<9:03 in the song, 20:32 in the run>, crossing the parking entrance now, the very last stretch.
You are desperately sprinting your guts out. DESPERATE. Enter Drums and it’s getting slower, look your watch.. you made it, you made it, smile now, laugh!
5K
<9:43 on the song, 21:12 on the stopwatch>
New PR 21:12, No Rush now, you did it. Cool down, stretch.
No Rush.
View attachment 29780
www.runnersworld.com
