I met the Running Support Crew for a lovely morning run per the Friday tradition.
When Megan, Kelly, Debbie, and I met in the parking lot, the sun hadn’t even rose (I was up at 5:00 AM and we met at 5:45). We ran in the dark for the first 4 miles!
I just love running the peaceful and cool darkness. It’s so quiet in the neighborhoods that early. It’s just perfect and a wonderful way to start Friday.
- Duration: Exactly 1 hour!
- Distance: 6.0 miles
Before our run, I had about 1/2 of this slice of bread and PB:
And afterwards, I had banana, yogurt, and 2 crushed Kashi TLC bars (as in, two individually wrapped bars):
I like using Kashi TLC bars in lieu of granola because it’s portion-controlled (and we all know I have a "thing" for granola), but sometimes 1 bar just isn’t enough! Especially after 6.0 miles. 🙂
I am really tired, but I have to work overtime today. I would rather be doing this all day long:
(Laying on the couch).
How to Pace Yourself
Kristen wrote me to say:
I recently had my 2nd baby in April and have began running and eating a clean diet based on advice from your blog along with Eat, Live, Run and Oh She Glows. I am now down 10 lbs under my prebaby weight and feel great!
I am running my very first 5K in October. Do you have any tips you can share on pacing? Having never run a race before I am scared I will take off and run by hardest at the beginning and then burn out half way through.
Pacing is really, really hard, and honestly… it’s what separates good runners from great runners. The trouble is that you want to push yourself to the point where you’re the fastest possible without going overboard. It’s hard not to burn out in the beginning of a race (I’ve done it QUITE a few times).
My I’m-going-to-collapse face:
Pacing ideas:
- If your race has "waves," get into your anticipated pace group or even a pace group behind it. If you’ve run 9-minute miles during your training, don’t stand with the 7-minute milers! It’s better to stand with the 10-minute milers and pass everyone then struggle to keep up.
- Practice, practice, practice. Run several practice runs at your goal time so you are familiar with how that pace "feels."
- Wear a watch so you can "time" your splits during the race.
- Check the race map and determine at which mile-marker the water stations or other landmarks will be at. You can use these landmarks as another place to check your pace. For example, if you plan to run 10-minute miles, the first water station is 1.5 miles into the course, and you hit it at 13:00 minutes, you’re going too fast.
- It’s easier to speed up over the duration of the race than it is to maintain an even somewhat decent pace at the end if you sprinted at the beginning.
- Remember that if it’s your first race or the first time running a new distance, you WILL set a personal record no matter what your pace is! 🙂
Do you have any suggestions for pacing? Or pacing horror stories? 🙂
What a gorgeous view! I wish I had that to look at every morning!