Monday, June 7, 2010

Kick the blues away...

... with an early a.m. run. Let's get the sweat going, get the difficult to-do item check off the list, and get the endorphins doing backflips and jumping jacks in your system.

I need to go to bed at an earlier time so I will be able to roll out of bed at a decent hour, which is at the crack of dawn, to go for a run. I think this is the only way to beat the heat. I finally caught some shut-eye around 2 a.m. this morning, got up at 6:15 a.m. and got ready for a run. Nothing too crazy - just 3 miles.

It is easier to run faster on the treadmill. You get the treadmill set to a certain speed and you just keep at it, putting one feet in front of the other. On the road, out in the open, I am left to my own devices and speed - which isn't quite that speedy. I tend to slow down a lot and get in a comfortable pace.  None of that today! My secret wish was to go faster than 11:00/mile.

The first mile was a little tough. I made several attempts to glance at the Garmin. My pace was hovering between a mid 10:00/mile to a mid 9:00/mile. Sweet! I also tried to remind myself to save some energy for the remaining two miles. At Mile #1, I realized I didn't turn my Garmin on. Never mind.

It wasn't an easy run. I had to focus on breathing and I was running out of breath. The legs were feeling it. But I kept going. It helps when there are "spectators" around. There were some men out working on a roof. An old man was outside getting his morning papers. The trash truck was making its rounds around the neighborhood. Random vehicles passing me. It helped to keep me keep running. Here are the splits for the 2 miles I had my Garmin on: 9:59:22, 9:47:96. Lovely. Under 10:00/mile. I figured my 1st mile was at an approx. 10:00/mile pace. Fartleks with Aneta is paying off!

How do you push yourself to run faster instead of settling at a comfortable pace?

6 comments:

  1. good job! lets try hills on wednesday!

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  2. woowhoo.. great job! ....
    I sometimes on longer runs throw in sprints at the end.... so the last 2 miles.. its sprinting as fast as i can, walking until i recover, sprinting, walking.. etc :)
    it pretty much leaves my butt kicked (ha)

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  3. In order not to go too slow, I set my Garmin to make a noise at a certain pace, that helps me to remember I have to run faster.Sometimes I get caught in my thoughts and slow done. But Garmin wakes me up :)

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  4. I try and plan my run ahead of time...10 min warm up, 3 min fast speed, 3 min slow speed, etc. Or I do a set speed for 3 miles, somewhere between my 5K pace and my comfortable pace.

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  5. I use tempo runs over a given distance. Tempo run should not be flat out but comfortably hard (about 20 seconds a mile slower than normal 5km/3mile pace). The concentration involved stops me slipping back into that nice comfortable pace. Using tempo runs raises the bodies lactate threshold allowing you over time to hold a faster pace for longer and also to recover faster.

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  6. That's so funny...I actually think the treadmill holds me back. I'm such a mental runner that when I see that the treadmill is set for a certain pace, I think "Oh, I wonder if I can keep that up". When I'm on the road or trail, I just run and often times find that I'm faster than I expected.

    Way to get out there and do it!

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Thanks for reading! Do leave me a comment or two. They keep me motivated.