Today I convincingly finished 3k run. I jumped an extra 500m from last week's 2.5k. At the end of the run I dashed for the last 100m. Even without the dash, I felt that I could still go on for another extra distance if I wasn't so excited and eager to finish the run.
There's one thing I've noticed since I started training myself in running a month ago, and that is if I just ignore my time and focus more on the distance I've run, it will be much easier to make it to the goal. Say, instead of setting a time for the run, it's easier to set a distance for the run. Every time I focus on the time, I start to feel anxious about the time that is still ahead of me, and then the breathing pattern is affected by doubting and rushing the run. Usually at the end of the run, I feel very tired and exhausted.
However, by setting a distance, I feel that my brain will try to adjust the power I need to finish the run, and even if I know how far I have run and how far it is still ahead of me, it's less than anxious than seeing the clock ticking and knowing that I still have 20 mins to go. And interestingly, I can always run further than the distance I set for myself at the beginning of the run.
It's quite hard to explain, but somehow, especially for a new runner like me, it's easier to focus on distance rather than time. And once I have the physical to finish the distance, then I think it'll be easier to start shorten the time by gradually increase the pace. Knowing that you can now finish the run, the brain will be more confident to start adding more speed.
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