I can’t believe that week 3 of training starts today. This race is going to be here before I know it, eh?
I’m so happy to say that I’m staying at a pace where I won’t end up swept on the bus. I have to admit, while I’d love to be fast, all I want to do is finish the race. Finishing the race means keeping a pace faster than 16:00 minutes/mile, so I can’t crawl there. Currently, I’m teetering between 15:30 and 15:45 minutes/mile. While I’m slow, I have to admit that I’m proud of myself. I’ve run a total of 20 miles in the past two weeks. That’s crazy…
Also, I purchased a Garmin Forerunner 10 this past week! I used it for Sunday’s run, and I love that it alerts me when to run/walk. I hate looking down at my phone to see pace/time, because the less I have to think about those things, the better off I am. I was afraid the watch would aggravate me during my run, but it really wasn’t bad at all. I think this is a keeper.
As for run/walks, I’m consistently running 10 minutes and walking one minute the whole time. This timing is working perfectly for me, and really helps me to break up the run mentally (since I know my pace).
Tuesday, I had a pace of 15:37 minutes/mile. To me, that’s a successful run. 🙂
Thursday, I was a tad slower with a pace of 15:39 min/mile.
Sunday was a tough run. My legs were heavy the whole time, and while the temps weren’t so bad, the sun was beating down on me. 15:44 min/mile (still won’t get swept, so boo yah!).
In speaking with a good blogger friend who has been down this road before, I was reminded that I need to start thinking about hydrating myself and fueling myself during long runs. Am I at that point already? Wow..this Sunday will be 5 miles, which is nuts. What’s your favorite way to fuel during your runs? I think I’m going to just have to buy a variety of things at the running store near me, but I’d love suggestions.
I randomly did a half marathon in October. When I say random, I mean that I signed up in March, changed my mind due to injury in August and changed my mind again (to do it) the week of. Not my smartest move! However, I did buy some of those Cliff shot blocks. I only bought one and those chews were perfect for the half marathon. I bought the cran-razz flavor which was quite enjoyable.