I really, really didn’t want to run tonight. I was in a terrible mood thanks to a bad day at work, a lack of sleep, and the fact that most of my colleagues were headed to our favorite dive bar for some marathon drinking (and I couldn’t go with them). But instead of joining my pals for a beer, I opted for a progressive pace run. I’m just too far behind on mileage this week.
I planned to start my first mile out slow – easy to do since I live at the bottom of a long hill. I normally average a 10:30-11 minute pace on this particular stretch, so when I looked at my split, I was excited to see a 9:39.
The next mile had a small downhill plus some flat spots, which led to an 8:04 for the split. Doh. How can I still be this bad at pacing myself?
Mile three was a gradual climb and I was able to slow it down to an 8:58 pace. (I knew I shouldn't/couldn't keep running faster than an 8:04 for another four miles.) Miles four and five I was able to crank out an 8:31 and another 8:04 respectively. (I was chasing another runner for a while, probably helped me on the hills).
Mile six. This is where I get to run DOWN the long, steep hill back to my apartment and is usually the best part of the run. However, running downhill aggravates my temperamental IT bands so I had to focus on taking shorter strides, leaving me with an 8:05 for the last mile.
Not sure that what I did qualifies as a progressive pace workout? I was in a great mood by the time I finished and I was quicker than I had hoped for, so I don’t really care if I messed up any potential mathematical calculations I was probably supposed to follow. And…this is why I’m a mid-pack runner. Oh well, cheers to that. :-)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment