I know that after running for the past 7 years now that I have had my ups and downs. Training for races sometimes goes well, sometimes not so well. The races themselves.....you just never know. When I least expect it I have a great race. Other days when I think I've done everything right..... the race doesn't. I have been fortunate never to have DNF'ed. But I have come close.
SO this training season my main focus seems to be to figure out how to run slow on the LSD days. Which right now are on Tuesdays for me. This is my fifth time training for a marathon. You would think that I would have an understanding of why and how you are supposed to run slower on your long runs than you plan to run on race day. Up to 90 seconds slower per mile. For some reason I struggle with this. I'm not sure if it's because I don't run fast enough on the other days or if I just run so slow that I can't run any slower without tripping!
My body is all legs. Long, strong, thick with an extra layer of fat that I'm working on shedding. You would think I'd be fast. But I learned way back in high school that I am not fast and never will be. Really if you watch those that run fast most of them are not tall. Not all legs. They are average to short, lean and very proportionate with their bodies. I am non of this. Thus I am slow. How do I learn to go slower?
Today was my first test. I had to run 7 miles this morning. Soon that will be a short run, but for now it is considered my LSD. My goal....to hit the 10:30p for most of the run. That is 1 minute slower than I plan on doing Disney. How did it go? Have a look.
Mile 1: 9:29 (crap, must have been the electrolyte tablets I just took)
Mile 2: 10:10 (getting there, but man that felt really slow)
Mile 3: 10:18 ( mile 3, I'm not huffing, puffing, can still breathe through my nose)
Mile 4: 10:16 ( I found my niche, 10:15 pace seems to be my comfort zone)
Mile 5: 10:35 (ah ha, got it. Finally only took 5 miles)
Mile 6: 10:01 ( got to excited I guess and sped up)
Mile 7: 9:44 ( I know, I was ready to go home)
Total: 7 miles in 1:10:30 10:04p.
This was not the 10:30 I was looking for. This is going to be harder than I thought. But I had a light bulb moment today. I finally realized why you are supposed to train this way. Today's run was the first in a very long time that I didn't feel zapped at the end. I didn't feel out of breath, I didn't feel like I was pushing my limits. I just ran. And I finished happy. Not exhausted. Bingo. All I want to do is finish happy in Disney. So my LSD runs will be happy runs. Whether the pace be 9:45 or 10:45 doesn't much matter. Just finish happy.
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