I was standing in line at the local grocery store when a young lady walked by wearing a t-shirt that had this sentence written on the back. "If you can read this, then you're NOT WINNING!" I had to smile. I immediately recognized the young woman as part of our community, the running community. Who else would wear a shirt like that? Only a runner. Another part of me got to thinking about that message. It was obvious that she was a competitive runner, probably for her high school, and that made her reasons for running different from mine. My reasons for running are my own. I want to get in better shape. I want to make new friends. I want to get out of the house and restaurant and DO THINGS. Everytime I lace up the Twins and go out for a run, I'm a winner. Everytime I complete my mileage goal for the run, I'm a winner. I am my only competition, and that is good enough for me.
Yesterday's run went fine. I decided to take the medium course and do 2.6 miles. It is exactly 0.2 miles from my house to the entrance of my subdivision, and this takes me exactly 4 minutes to walk on my warm up. Instead of heading left for the long run, I make a right and go through the neighborhoods there. It's a little flatter, and I was able to do Run 6/Walk 2 pretty much the whole way. My time for the 2.6 miles, including the 4 minute warm up and 4 minute warm down was 34:55, for an average of 13:27 per mile. If you factor out the 0.4 mile warm up, my pace was 12:40 seconds per mile.
For all you new runners out there, it is definitely true what they say about the startup. You're breathing is VERY HEAVY until your body adjusts to the stress, so don't freak out in the first 1000 yards of your run. Stress your body in the warm up or give it a chance to get going, then you'll fall into your comfort zone.
Finish strong!
Wes
ORN: 34:45, 2.6 miles, 13:27 per mile, R6/W2, 4 minute warm up and warm down
Friday, July 21, 2006
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I hear you about competing with yourself. I do the same. By the way, I never include my warm up/cool down in the pace - it doesn't count in my book. :)
Thanks for visiting my blog again. R2P is Mt. Rainier to Pacific - an 11 person relay with 3 legs per person from Mt. Rainier (WA) area to the Pacific Ocean. Lots of fun and little to no sleep. :)
The shirt is cute - I'd love to have one, except no one would see it on a run! ;-p But I, too, love the running community.
I'm with Annette on times - I don't include the first 1/4 mile/4 minutes in my times. And today was one of my real "strong" finishes! It is so awesome.
Welcome to the joy (and sometimes misery) of running.
There is definately a difference between running on the treadmill and pavement; the treadmill is far easier. Also, don't pay too much attention to the distance readings on the treadmill (they are usuaually not accurate).
Though my distance training has been an on again, off again proposition, my suggestion to you for the 10K would be to join a running group through a local running store.
Also: the internet (check out Runner's World) is a great resource for weekly training plans.
Post a Comment