Saturdays are the day I do my long run with my running club- and those runs are according to our training schedule for the Half Marathon in May. My club runs by time, not mileage- which I believe is superior (at least for my style). I don't feel overwhelmed having to try to reach a certain mileage- and that allows me to relax and focus on form and pace management. Today's run was 50 minutes. We run on the Monon Trail in Indianapolis, so we go half the time one way- and then turn around to return. The goal, as set by the trainers, is to settle into your pace early and do the second half of your run slightly faster than the first half- helps you keep from going out too fast and sputtering out.
My run graph from Nike+ is great because it shows that I really did that- it was slight, but I did return faster than the first half of my run. But it also shows a consistent pace overall and a fast one for me! This is one of my longest runs ever- and the longest in a very long time.
In a couple of weeks- I have my 2nd ever 10K to run (the last one was run in 2006, the same day I found out I was pregnant with my oldest daughter). I am now confident that I will be able to RUN the whole thing without walking. There is nothing wrong with walk breaks- but this is a personal goal of mine- and I am so proud to know that I can do this.
Wow, a little over 10 minutes a mile for almost an hour--that is awesome!!
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm now attached to my walk breaks and I think they make me a better runner, I kind of like that I proved to myself that I COULD run the long distances without any breaks. It means that for me walk breaks are now a choice instead of a "have to" and I like that.
Great run, Lola! :)