I realize that's a strange question to be asking at the beginning of a blog post, but follow me here. Today was my scheduled long run. Week 16 of the FIRST marathon training plan, a 10-miler, with a goal of 9:22/mi. I tried to keep closer to 9:00/mi, which I did for the first 4 miles or so.
When the bike path I was running on ended, I turned right and ran to the 5-mile point. As I turned around, I decided to walk back to the path, which turned out to be about 1/4 mile away.
As I reached the path, I just felt compelled to walk further. I ended up walking 1/2 mile total when I started running again. At the end of mile 6, I was still running slowly and ended up resting at mile 7 by walking another 1/4 mile.
I tried to pick up the pace beyond 9:00 and ended up running 8:30 for a while. In the end though, it was too little too late, and my average was 10:11.
So how about it? I finished 10 miles, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't be complaining about a 10:11 average. But here, I didn't come close to the goal, and I walked 3/4 of a mile. Do I suck?
Anyway, here's the map.
And here are the splits. The last part of the graph is actually 16 feet, according to the Garmin. Heh.
Mile 1: 9:10.73
Mile 2: 9:03.49
Mile 3: 9:01.04
Mile 4: 9:16.60
Mile 5: 9:29.61
Mile 6: 14:48
Mile 7: 9:53.05
Mile 8: 12:19.49
Mile 9: 9:12.99
Mile 10: 9:36.34
Total 1:41:53, 10:11/mi average, 1200 calories burned.
And that ends Week 3 of FIRST training. Tomorrow's the gym and 30 Day Shred.
4 comments:
Greg,
I thought your goal was to run 10 miles at a 9:22 pace? ;-)
I know you want to run a 9 minute mile for all 10 miles right NOW, but if you trust in the tried-&-true wisdom of the FIRST program & aim for your pace marks as they are right now, you will no doubt be running those 9 minute miles for all 10 miles! :)
Cheers,
-C
Amendment: I meant that you will be running 9 minute miles for all 10 miles hopefully very soon, if you follow the FIRST plan as intended. :)
And BTW, you certainly don't suck, you just need to acquire some patience. ;-)
If you keep working hard like you've already been doing, you will no doubt improve.
Look how long it took me to improve my pace! I think that if you re-align your expectations with a longer, more realistic time-frame, you'll find you won't be so frustrated & hard on yourself.
I'm only saying all of this because I think you've got it in you to achieve your goals. And plus, I think you are mentally tough enough to handle the truth. :)
Running is supposed to be fun. At least that's my attitude. Don't worry about a higher pace, just get the mileage in.
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