Running slow

Thanks so much to everyone who commented on my last post with advice about pacing, especially Jill! It was really helpful, and on Friday morning I took the advice, and aimed to run my long run at 10 min/ mile pace.

This was 30 seconds per mile slower than my last long run, but 2 miles longer, so it seemed appropriate to slow down anyway. I picked the same route as before, running towards the beach and then along it. I was lucky enough to have another fabulous day for running, as the sun was out, it was mild and there was hardly any wind.

For the first few miles I found it quite hard to run slowly. I had to keep forcing myself to slow down, and concentrate on how fast I was running. It just wasn't my natural pace. However, as I got used to it, and as I got more tired, it became a lot easier to stick to this pace.

I ran along the beach until the Garmin hit 8 miles, and then I turned around to come back. At that stage, I was feeling pretty comfortable. I did stop a few times, to take photos, to cross busy roads, and once when I saw someone I knew and stopped for a chat. But the last 5 miles or so were continuous, and for the last 4 miles, I tried to pick up the pace a bit. I was hoping for 9.30 mins for those, but it felt a bit too hard, and I didn't want to push too hard as this has been a big mileage week for me!

This is what my splits looked like:

I was really pleased to see that my last 2 miles were the fastest of the run! My average pace for the whole run was 9.56 min miles, so job done.

The following morning I went along to Parkrun, although I probably shouldn't have run so soon after that long run, my legs felt in need of recovery. But I like the social aspect of running with others. It was my slowest 5k for a few years as I ran at 9.32 pace, which was probably faster than I should have. I jogged most of it, then sprinted at the end to get under 30 minutes! I couldn't help myself.

After that, my legs were well and truly stuffed. I didn't get a chance to cycle this week (because of work commitments), but it's been my biggest running week since 2010, when I trained for my last marathon! I ran 30.1 miles. Perhaps it's no wonder then that I'm absolutely shattered. Today I'm off to visit my parents with the kids for a few days, as it's half term holiday this week. I'm looking forward to some relaxing, and then starting the next week of running in my home town.