I've been thinking a lot lately about my interval method...currently I do the 4 minute run / 1 minute walk intervals, if you recall me mentioning on many different occasions. I've been wondering if this is the right method for me. Part of me wants to break free from it and pull a Forrest Gump and just run. Now I know I'm not capable of any great distances, but just wonder if I'm limiting my growth/capability by sticking to the intervals. My point in discussing this with you is that the reason I considered attending my mentor's clinic was to find out how to transition from the intervals to just simply running.
I decided to do a little experiment. I started running and only glanced at my Garmin every once in a while to check my pace and/or to see how far I'd gone. My mentor has said on many occasions that it is more important to build distance over speed. Several other peeps in my group have told me you can expect to take off as little as 30 seconds and as much as 60 seconds per mile once it gets cooler out, so I don't necessarily think it's fair to judge my time right now either since most of my races will be run during cooler temperatures.
After my first mile, I thought, okay just for for another half mile. I then pushed myself to two miles. Truth be told, I still had more in me to give. I then told myself to make it to a 5K. When I hit the 5K, I walked 0.15 of a mile, and then I ran the remaining 0.75 of a mile. That lead me to the final timed lap. That was kind of disastrous, but only because I slugged down over half of my bottle of Powerade Zero before running it and it was sloshing around in my stomach. When am I going to learn that lesson?!
The point is that I learned I can run a 5K non-stop. If I can do it in this heat and humidity (while still recovering from the attack of the cold/allergies/sinus issues), then imagine what I will be able to accomplish in the upcoming months with increased training and better weather?!
I might actually be able to do this marathon. My confidence is building.
What have you accomplished lately that you are proud of?
2 comments:
Yea! all your blogs came through my feed reader finally...hopefully they will keep coming.
Good luck expanding your "running" time. I've done everything from 10, 15 and 20 min intervals. Our training runs are usually 2 mile intervals, but for the marathon we just walk through the waterstops- it's just more practical to coordinate water/walk breaks with the madness and mayhem of a water station.
Good for you reaching further, digging deeper! I've moved my grow from 4:1 to gradually 7:1. Sometimes I let them run longer if they are chatting away, oblivious to the time. Ha!
Houston has your name on it! We are almost assured that at least it won't be 100+ for the race! You'll find that yes, it will be MUCH easier without the intense heat & humidity. Way to go!
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