Need Help: 3Km Race Plan

Hi Guys,

How's your training going? Good luck on your own different upcoming races.

I wrote this entry to seek your running advice. I am really hoping to beat the 4:00 min/km in my next road races. Just this morning, I finished my 3 kilometer tempo run.

I did three laps on the 1K loop above. On my first lap, I clocked in a 3:44-minute kilometer. Great. However, I only managed a 4:07 and a 4:15 on the last two laps. I finished the 3K run in 12:06 minutes.

My strategy is to run at top speed for 200 - 300 meters, recover for 100 meters and then run at top speed again.. and then recover. Similar to what I do during interval training.

My strategy seems to work only on the first kilometer. On the succeeding kilometers of this 3K run, I cannot hold the speed any longer and needs lots of recovery time. As a result, I am slowing down more and more.

My question is.. Should I continue with this strategy and just improve on my recovery time? Or should I just run below my top speed to completely rid off of those slow recovery times?

As of this writing, I can think of two solutions for my slow downs:

1. I still have more than two weeks on my schedule for Interval Training. I could use that time to improve my recovery times. I train for 8x400 meter intervals with 400 meter recoveries and then 6x800 meter intervals with 400 meter recoveries. I plan on running intervals with less recoveries.

2. To avoid slow downs after running on top speed, it would be better to just run just below my maximum speed. I will run my next Tempo Run with a consistent pace from start to the last 400 meters. Only after that will I run at top speed to reach the finish line.

I need your advice on this. Please help. I am so near on my target and yet still so far from reaching it.

Thanks and Regards,
Jayson