Last week I had a horrible race pace run. It was horrible because even though I hit my paces, it was a huge effort. More of an effort than it should have been. What was wrong with me? Am I not in the shape for the paces I want to hit or was I just having an off day?
This week's race pace run was going to be 7 miles- a mile longer than last week's. I was very nervous! I decided that to ease my anxiety, I needed to get out of my neighborhood and run somewhere different. I headed over to the Conewago Rail Trail in Elizabethtown.
The plan was to warm up for 2 miles, run 7 miles @ 7:15 pace, then cool down with 2 miles. While my legs didn't feel completely fresh during my warm up, they felt better than they did last week. When I started my tempo miles, I was a little concerned at first. It was an effort.
I don't know why I envision myself running these tempo miles effortlessly. It's not supposed to be effortless! It's supposed to be hard!
My 7 tempo miles were hard but they were manageable. It was a lot better than last week by far.
Warm Up: 8:20, 8:18
Workout: 7:17, 7:09, 7:12, 7:12, 7:13, 7:13, 7:12,
Cool Down: 8:19, 8:06
I took this picture during my walking cool down in attempts to somehow capture they beauty of the Conewago Trail for you!
Paul calls this, "Resting tired face."
I hope you are having some great runs this weekend!
You are definitely right- those paces are supposed to be challenging! But I also think as you get used these types of workouts you will start to feel more comfortable running that pace. Glad you were in a better mindset about it this week!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa :) Wise words indeed!
DeleteNice job--that trail looks amazing. It's hard to accept that running will be very uncomfortable at times...but it will. I think this is all part of the process and one of the many things that keeps us coming back for more!
ReplyDeleteNice work, Megan. Your pace is very consistent. Do you run in a fairly flat area? I find that if I want to pace that specifically, I need a more controlled environment. Whenever I try to run a specified pace on hilly terrain, it falls apart. Crazy how our good days and bad days are unpredictable! Whenever I have a good day, part of me wishes it was a race day. Haha.
ReplyDeleteYes all my pace runs are in my neighborhood, which is fairly flat, or somewhere like this rail trail. I used to run hills a lot but I have to be close to Paul so the hood is one of my only options. Plus these two races I have coming up are flat or otherwise I would need to get my ass on some hills!
DeleteI understand the desire for your tough runs to suddenly feel effortless. I always wonder when I'll get to the point that long runs feel easy and like I could go forever. I wonder if even elite runners ever reach that point!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had such pretty scenery to keep you distracted during your run!
You know they probably don't feel that way, because like us, we keep upping the game. I mean now you say you want your long runs to feel easy but your definition of a long run now is prob different than it used to be. We just keep setting the bar higher!
DeleteAmazing job! How on earth do you keep such a consistent pace?! I don't think I could do that even on a treadmill LOL.
ReplyDeleteI don't know! Actually, it was rare to be running 7:12, I was mostly running like 7:03, then realizing it was too fast and then doing like a 7:25. For some reason that 7:15 pace is weird for me to hit- i either want to be a little faster or a little slower!
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