I have decided on a new method of getting to the goddamn 3 km.
My theory is, they want me to be able to run it in 14 minutes, although I am aiming for 12 eventually. As I have become bored with my usual method, I have decided a new tact.
Today I ran at 8km/h for 4 minutes. (Shut up, I know that's rubbish, but if it starts to hurt I start to quit) Every time I am comfortable with that length of time, I will up it by 30 seconds or so. Eventually, when I get to being able to do the full 12 minutes, I will up the speed somewhat until I am running at the required 12 km/h.
That way, if I am actually moving up the time closer to the goal, even though initially I won't be running anywhere near the required distance, it will seem more acheivable.
The only problem is, this is going to take forever, especially when I generally only do the running three times a week. But, it's unlikely that my trade will open until April, so I may just have time to do this. I need to work that out though. I'm presuming I'll have at least 100 runs until then, and eventually I'll be strong enough so I won't need the day off in between each run anyway. I will make a database to work this out...
EDIT: I wasn't kidding, I really did go and make a databse. I have been fairly easy on myself with it because I don't like being pushed. Initially it takes longer for there to be increments as I am more likely to quit early on, and over the Christmas period the times go up faster than anywhere else because I won't be at uni and so will have less excuses. I have set a rule that I can always do more or for longer (I won't) as long as I actually reach the target amount.
So, using my handy dandy chart, provided I stick to it, I predict that:
On December 2nd, I will acheive my first full 12 minutes - albeit with a 3 minute walking gap in the middle.
On January 14th, I will have acheived my full 12 minutes with no gap.
On February 1st, I will have acheived my full 12 minutes at 12 km/h.
That last one might have to be amended a bit. At the moment I'm assuming that once I've done 12 minutes at 8km/h twice I can handle an up of 0.4km with every run, I'm not entirely sure if I can or not as it means nothing to me, so that can be amended.
Technically I still won't hit the speed, it has to be 12 minutes 20 or something on my treadmill, but I'm assuming that once I've been doing it for a while it won't be too hard to move it up a little. And if I really can't do that, well, I'm a girl, I can slow it down but will have to run for longer as a result.
We shall see how long I actually keep to my new chart.
EDIT: I have put my chart into my journal, in an entry that will always be second to top.
CLICK HERE to see. I'll keep it updated as much as I remember so if anyone wants to see how I am getting on with it or be my personal cheerleader, there is where to go!