Mediocre running techniques 1 : Interval training

Disclaimer : I actually have no idea what Interval training means. Someone mentioned it as a running strategy and what follows is my own interpretation...

So you can't run 5 km at one go? Guess what? - nobody can! The first step to confidence as a runner is to ignore all these Kenyans and other athletes. This is hard to do in Mumbai when you run right alongside (for a few seconds) and the Kenyans are on their way to finishing a full marathon before you complete a half-er. But that's like imagining Michael Chang chasing down Kim Clijsters' powerful groundstrokes - it's just not a fair comparison.
Making the small psychological leap from couch potato to mediocre runner is not easy. Interval training should get you there faster and easier.
The technique involves running fast and stopping when you are out of breath. If you are doing this right, you would have run about 40 metres in the first burst. Now comes the 'interval' which gives this technique its name. If you are measuring your run with that Nike-plus stopwatch/wristband, then this is the point where you press 'hold'. You don't want these intervals to affect your average pace, do you? If you've picked a good location for your run, this would be chai/juice time and some runners go as far as snacks/lunch/dinner. Once you are completely certain you've digested all this stuff and are also back to a normal heartbeat, however long that takes, sprint again. The extra load might mean you'd do something like 10-15 metres this time around before your lungs stop you. Interval 2 beckons. You could repeat these interval-run cycles for as many times as you like till the sprint length becomes something like 1-2 metres. That would be a good time to call it a day and head to more carb-replenishment.
The advantages of using this technique vis-a-vis jogging steadily, are many - it's less boring, for one. Also if you have some niggles you don't even know about, the short sprints would ensure these come out in the open as full-fledged injuries so you can treat them. The third advantage is that onlookers, after a few strange looks at the start, give way for you to run while joggers don't get this sort of awe-filled respect ever.