Well, first off, the groovy news is that I am officially registered for Twin Cities! Sunday, October 5th at 8am. Mark it on your calendars. I'm excited and a little nervous. I'm worried that 4:30 might be too ambitious for me. But then again, after a tempo night like I had last night...I wonder if I should be setting my sights a little higher.
I did a 7 mile tempo run last night--one mile warm-up, 5 miles at mid-tempo pace of 9:13, and a one mile cool-down. I was nervous about the actual tempo portion, so I allowed myself a walk-break at 2.5 miles, if necessary. I took the walk break, but I don't think that it was necessary. My average pace for those first 2.5 miles was 8:54. I glanced at my Garmin frequently, trying to make myself slow down, but it didn't seem to do any good. My second 2.5 miles was even faster--an average pace of 8:49. I admit, when "Toxic" came on with about a mile left, I just let myself go. I didn't try to hold back. But I was running pretty close to 7 minute miles at the end of my tempo. For a lot people, this what they normally run. For me, 7 minute miles are pretty freaking fast. Especially considering that when I first started running 3 years ago, I was running 14 minute miles!
So, my tempo run makes me wonder--should I be setting my sights a little higher? Aiming for faster training paces? I seem to be coming in under the target paces for speedwork too. My long run paces are holding pretty steady around 9:30 (which is where they should be), but the second half of my long runs is usually a lot faster than the first half. I'd say it takes me about 3 miles to really warm-up, and then I can just go.
Maybe the issue is my iPod? I don't usually run with the iPod on speedwork days--I like being able to listen to my breathing and my footfall on speedwork days. Strangely, these days are when I really focus on my form, too. But for tempo and long runs, I do take my iPod. I wonder if I would be able to maintain such a speedy pace without the help of Britney and Weezer. I think I'll leave the music at home this Sunday for my 8-mile "long" run and see how it goes.
There was an interesting article in the New York Times this week (if only I had a nickel for every time I said that...) about Sara Hall, and how she realized that the 5K was not her prime event, and started focusing on shorter distances. There was a lot of information about her training, and some good stuff that even recreational runners can take away and implement (skipping drills, perhaps?). But what really got me was her coach talking about how you really need to find the distance that works for you. That someone might be slaving away at marathons, when really they are meant to win their age-group at a 5K. Now, I don't think I'll ever be meant to win my age group in anything (especially not a 5K!), but it did get me thinking. It would be fun to have the resources to hire a coach, and see if there is perhaps a magic distance that I should be focusing on.
I realize that I'll never be anything close to an somewhat-elite-semi-amateur, but I do love running, and I do love seeing myself improve. I love throwing everything I have into each workout and watching my times come down. It would tickle me pink to know what I really could do. Maybe next year. Must focus on TCM first.
In other training thoughts, I was reading a discussion forum on RunnersWorld.com today that talked about the FIRST training program. Using the program brought varying levels of success for most people that posted, but many of them did utilize the cross-training. Some of them just did "easy" runs for their cross-training; others swam and/or biked. I wonder if bike commuting will be enough cross-training for me, or if I should perhaps do "easy" runs on my cross-training days. Basically, just a 5 mile run on Wednesdays and Fridays, leaving Monday and Saturdays as rest days. (Saturday as a true rest day; I'd probably still do yoga on Mondays.) My main concern is that I'm not sure that I could do an easy run--every run seems to turn into some kind of competition with myself, or just wanting to totally rock out to the music that's playing. I guess I could give it a try and see how I feel.
I love running. I love obsessing about running. It's fun.
posted by Lola @ 2:16 PM
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