Take My Own Advice
| September 13, 2012 | Posted by Carrie under Running |
I was talking to my friend the other day about running, I do try not to bore non-running friends to death with running talk (that’s what my blog is for), but the subject came up and I mentioned that I ran for 2 hours alone this past weekend. Then, I said “I wish I was faster.”
That got me thinking… how do you become faster? Well, I know the answer, I just hadn’t been doing anything about it. I go out there and run and do some half-hearted speed workouts, but I’ve really done nothing serious in months and months to try to get faster.
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So, yesterday, I stopped with the wishing and decided to take my own advice. I did a real tempo run. I’m not following any specific plan, so I decided I’d do my 2 miles at a 10:00 pace. The number kind of scared me, but I was pretty sure I could do it.
I walked the first mile with my dogs, then took them home and ran an easy mile 2 to get myself to a nice open stretch of path with no stoplights. I hit start and set the goal of going at a good pace, not all-out, and I made note to not look at my watch for a good minute and then I’d adjust accordingly.
When I looked down I saw 8:30 as my pace. Eeek! So, I slowed down and next thing I knew it was showing 9:30. I was breathing well and didn’t seem like I was dying, so I changed my goal to stick with that.
I did it!! I talked myself out of walking at the 1 mile turnaround point and I kept going for 2 uninterrupted miles at a 9:33 pace! At some point I looked down and saw my pace slowing to 9:37, so I pushed back and got it back down. That last 1/4 mile was hard. Really hard. And – that’s the exact pace I need to break the 30 minute 5K! I’m setting my sights on that.
I then walked a bit and then slowly ran home to finish mile 5 of the workout at a 13:13 pace.
So, if you find yourself wishing for something to change – it’s never going to change. You have to do something about it.
Do you take your own advice?
Great job! I’m doing my first tempo run on Saturday! Wish me luck!
Good luck! How many miles do you run your tempo speed?
I finally took mine!
Yesterday. I longed to turn off the yoga DVD part way through. I didn’t!!
When I’m in that “I want to stop this torture now” situation – I usually imagine how it’ll look when I talk about it on my blog, I quickly change my mind.
Yay you!
Awesome! Way to push yourself Carrie:) You can totally break 30 minutes!
hikermom recently posted..Three Things Thursday
Thanks! I’m getting there. Now to add the 3rd mile
Great post, you are right stop wishing and just do it. Thanks for the motivation!
Lisa recently posted..Protein Banana Muffins
You’re welcome Lisa. Hope you’re having a great day!
Awesome! Way to go on getting out there and doing it… and then finding out you could do even more than you thought you could! So happy for you and I know you will keep it up, too.
Sometimes we are just boxed in by fear, I think.
Elle recently posted..Creamy Coconut Chicken
I think you’re right about the fear. Also a willingness to let ourselves push harder.
That’s great! The way that I increased speed work was to do shorter intervals — timed or fartlek — like 7-8 minutes fast following by 2 slower. I found that I naturally increased my normal pace by getting used to going faster.
Coco recently posted..Thirsty Thursday: Raging Bitch At The Ball Game
I’ve been doing fartlek type intervals a little bit. I like your 7-8 min of fast idea, too. I just have to mix things up or I get bored.
great job on your run! It’s awesome when you listen to yourself huh? haha
Danielle @ itsaharleyyylife recently posted..The Secret Is Out: Starbucks
Thanks Danielle.
AWESOME!!! If you can run 2 miles at 9:30 pace, you can break 30 min. for a 5K no problem!
Jan recently posted..Project 366 (No I didn’t forget)
I know! I think 9:33 is exactly the sub-30 5K pace I’ve calculated I need. Now to figure out when and where to tackle it… I’ve got to find a flat one.
Nicely done… those warm up miles always help. I definitely try to find my stride after a few miles when I can get into the groove. Keep it up, trust in your training and run strong.
PavementRunner recently posted..10 Running-Related Questions
Thank you. Yes, the warm up miles help. I also love the cool down miles, I usually feel like I’m walking.
Awesome pace Carrie! You’ll have your sub-30 5k in no time!
Jill @ Fitness, Health and Happiness recently posted..Fitness Friday || Races and Running Plans
Thanks Jill, I know I’m getting close.
Good job. I’m finally doing something about the speed thing too.
Yay for pushing things and getting better.
This is my first one. It’s 35 minutes. That means 10 minutes to warm up, gradual increase for 15 minutes, 10 minutes to cool down.
I’m thinking this will equal a little over 4 miles…..I want to start at 9:00 min miles, gradual increase, peaking at maybe a 7:45 miles (just for 5 minutes or so) and back down….
Laura @ RunningJunkie123 recently posted..Race for Grace and a New Brussel Sprout Addiction
Thanks for the details. Nice goal pace! Good luck tomorrow. I’d love to hear how it goes.
That is awesome! I totally do not take my own advice! That’s why we all have to put ourselves out there, so we can get advice from others that we would give to them but not take ourselves! Great job on the pace!
Travel Spot recently posted..12 in 2012 Update (2)
Thanks! So much easier to give advice than to take it
Nice job pushing yourself! Sometimes I take my own advice and sometimes I ignore it, even though I know it is what I should be doing.
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