Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Good Lord Woman, Pace Yourself!

Wow, 7 minute first mile! But the rest...hmmmm....

Run/Workout: 5 Miles Race Pace
Location: Astoria High School Track
Run Time (if applicable): 39:29, 7:53 average splits
Run Start:11:15 am
Temperature: 58 degrees
Weather: sunny and beautiful, some wind
 
Let's talk pace today folks. Today I went out to do a Pace Run. This type of workout is also called a Tempo run. It's where you go all out and aim for your race pace in order to build stamina and condition yourself to running faster. I have noticed that the distances are much shorter than your target race however. I can say with certainty that it really targets your lungs, your intercostal muscles, and your mental stamina. For me it also tests my ability to control my breathing and form. Temp runs are not very fun. They are hard!

One thing that I failed at today is controlling my pace. I don't know what my deal is. I went all out because that's kind of what you are supposed to do, right? You run as fast as you can for as long as you can and hope you get a good time overall?...well not necessarily. This mindset is dangerous because you risk using up all of the glycogen stores in your muscles and crapping out early. This is precisely what happened to me today. While overall I did get a good time for the distance, I was disappointed at my inconsistency. It would totally be awesome if in a race I could hold a 7 minute mile for a 10K, but I'm not there yet! So instead of "going all out" it is important to pace yourself somewhat. You can always push it further on your last mile. <----That is what I am going to be telling myself from now on, and hopefully it will help!

Ok, I like to end on the good...

I did run fast today. I didn't puke (although I came close between miles 1-3). Even though I considered it a few times, I did not quit! I kept telling myself to just keep going, I would be really disappointed in myself if I quit.

The sun was shining and I burned some serious calories. My body feels great.


1 comment:

  1. Hello! I just wanted to say I like your blog because it relates to my running style a lot! I am also working on pacing myself and my speed. I live in Sandy, Or, which if you know anything about the town, it's very hilly. I'm usually either running up or down, so that makes it hard to keep a consistent pace! But I find when I run a race in another city I surprise myself with my time and usually dominate on hills! So I must be doing something right with my training!
    I am also training for the Portland Marathon and am running my first half this weekend in Hilsboro!
    Keep up the good work! Your times are awesome!

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