Maybe That Hard Work Does Pay Off....
In April, I ran a half marathon in 2:50 (or ~13 minutes per mile). When I was filling out my application for the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon they asked me both my previous best time and my estimated finish time. I decided to write in 2:30. That seemed like a seriously challenging goal (over 1.5 minutes/mile less) and something fun to work towards because to meet that goal I have to do about 11.5 minutes per mile.
This morning I got up for a 10-mile training run around Stoney Creek. I started out with just my natural pace to warm up for the first mile. I was shocked to find that my natural pace has changed from 12-13 minutes per mile to 11 minutes per mile! I don't normally time myself that closely....so I was oblivious. That was awesome, so I thought it would be fun to see just how far I could keep it up. I was expecting my pace to drop off as the miles went by and my goal was to finish the 10-mile run with an average of 12 minute miles.
I finished my 10 miles in 1:49. That is just under (like barely) 11 minutes per mile!!!! And I wasn't even really racing. My legs hurt a bit at the end but I was in excellent shape. I could have walked the last three miles and still finished under 2:30. How awesome is that!?!!? I didn't realize that all the running I've been doing this summer (~4 times/week...3-4 miles/run) was going to be so fruitful. Maybe the strength training is also helping. I have no idea. All I know is that this is awesome! I'm no longer a horrendously slow tortoise! I'm a kinda slow tortoise! :-)
This morning I got up for a 10-mile training run around Stoney Creek. I started out with just my natural pace to warm up for the first mile. I was shocked to find that my natural pace has changed from 12-13 minutes per mile to 11 minutes per mile! I don't normally time myself that closely....so I was oblivious. That was awesome, so I thought it would be fun to see just how far I could keep it up. I was expecting my pace to drop off as the miles went by and my goal was to finish the 10-mile run with an average of 12 minute miles.
I finished my 10 miles in 1:49. That is just under (like barely) 11 minutes per mile!!!! And I wasn't even really racing. My legs hurt a bit at the end but I was in excellent shape. I could have walked the last three miles and still finished under 2:30. How awesome is that!?!!? I didn't realize that all the running I've been doing this summer (~4 times/week...3-4 miles/run) was going to be so fruitful. Maybe the strength training is also helping. I have no idea. All I know is that this is awesome! I'm no longer a horrendously slow tortoise! I'm a kinda slow tortoise! :-)