Well, when I decided to blog about this training plan, my intention was to post about each run on the day that I ran it. Obviously, I have already fallen waaay behind on this. I think I may revise my strategy and post twice a week. I'm only running 4 days a week, so this means I can write about 2 runs in each post. This seems like a more realistic goal.
But, before implementing the new plan, I need to play catch up. So, since I last wrote I have completed 4 training runs. The first being a 5 mile run with 3 miles at race pace. I did this last Tuesday and was pretty pleased with myself. Here are the splits:
Mile 1: 9:38
Mile 2: 8:15
Mile 3: 8:06
Mile 4: 8:13
Mile 5: 8:50
While technically this run wasn't a success since I ran too fast for the three pace miles(My race pace is 8:31.), I would rather be misjudging my pace in the too fast direction than the too slow direction. But I know that the author of my training plan, Hal Higdon, would be none to pleased with my pushing too hard. He harps and harps on his website about not ever pushing too hard. So, tomorrow during my 6 mile pace run, I'm going to try extra hard to hit those 8:31s right on the money.
On Wednesday I did my long run of the week (THANK YOU to my friend Shannon who has volunteered to keep Susannah for my weekly long run!). The run was a little disjointed.....Half mile to the dog groomer with Meadow and Susannah in tow. Then a fast 1 mile to Shannon's house because I did the math in my mind wrong and thought that I needed to be fast because Meadow needed to be picked up sooner than I expected. Luckily I eventually realized that I actually had plenty of time. So after dropping Susannah off I had a nice, much needed 8 miles in the sunshine. Have you ever had those days when you needed to run? I mean really NEEEED to run. Well, I have had a couple of those days this week, and Wednesday was definitely one of them. I didn't even turn on my music. I just ran. And talked to God. And ran some more. And listened to God. There is something about the combination of rhythmic steps and physical exertion that makes me more aware of the amazing creation around me and the creator that designed it all for us. It took all 8 of my stroller-free miles, but I'm happy to say that by the time I picked Susannah up and headed back to the groomer for Meadow, my head and my heart were clear and content again. Ah, the joys of this sport. (I averaged 9:30 for this run.)
Thursday and Friday are days off for me because I am exclusively a morning runner and we have morning committments on both of these days. As my mileage builds and it becomes tougher to combine two runs worth of mileage into one day though, I realize that I may have to sacrifice and run on Fridays which will mean a very sweaty and stinky bible study for me and all of the poor women in my group.
On Saturday all the joy and peace that Wednesday's run had provided had long worn off, so I was once again in the "I ABSOLUTELY MUST RUN IN THE NEXT HOUR OR MY HEAD WILL EXPLODE" kind of mood. In the course of our 7 year marriage, Peter has learned when to say, "Babe, I think you should go run. Please, just go. PLEASE, we will be fine." Saturday was definitely one of those days. So I left he and Susannah at the playground and took off. Once again, with no music. Just me, the gray clouds, the strong breeze, and the one who created it all. I did 6 miles at an easy 9:30 pace. (I must admit though, that the "easy" 9:30 pace didn't feel as easy as it should have. I think the fact that it is girl scout cookies season may have something to do with my sluggishness on Saturday.... pretty sure two sleeves of do-si-dos is more than the recommended serving size for one person. Even with the girl scout cookie induced sluggishness, though, at the end of this run, just as on Wednesday, I finished feeling like the burden sack on my back only weighed 100 lbs instead of 1000.
After taking yesterday off, I was ready to go this morning. I had a 45 minute tempo run planned. I forced myself to start slow, knowing that I would need energy to get me cranked up to an 8 minute pace by mile three. So when my trusted NikePlus man told me my 1 mile split of 9:23, I thought okay, right on target. I must admit though, that I didn't feel right on target. I felt tired and winded. (Possibly due to the conversation hearts and pizza I had last night?) I picked it up anyway though, surprisingly feeling less tired as I picked it up. By mile 2 I was feeling all right and felt GREAT when I heard that my pace avg for the first 2 miles was 8:33. Wow! That means I just did a sub 8 and it didn't even feel that fast! Yes! My tempo pace is supposed to be 7:45-8:01, so even though my goal was to just build to an 8 minute pace and hold it for mile 3, I decided to keep pushing considering my energy level. I kept pushing, concentration on keeping my stride short and was excited to hear that by mile 3 my pace average was 8:15. (My nike plus won't give me splits on each mile, so I have to do the math in my head to figure out my splits. Yes, I could use my watch, but the math actually gives me something to focus on during tough runs. And, it is oh so fun to check my splits online after I get home and shower.) We slowed down after mile three, stopped at Boney's Grocery at mile 4, and jogged very slowly home for the fifth mile to avoid breaking any of the groceries I had stuffed into all pockets and crevices of the stroller. So, in sum, this was a great run with very encouraging splits.
Mile 1: 9:23
Mile 2: 7:51
Mile 3: 7:36
Mile 4: 8:32
Mile 5: 10:00
Hope everybody else is enjoying some good running this week! Next post, I'll let you know how the first hill workout goes.......
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