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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Don't go out too fast!

Not starting out too fast either training or in a race has always been a challenge for me. As recently as last week, I set off on my Saturday run, Saturday is my long day. The long run is an important day in preparation for an upcoming race, mine being the Hyannis marathon at the end of February. My training program had me scheduled for 16 miles, a manageable distance as long as I don't start out too fast. I had picked a new route, thinking that a less hilly course could help me get a little better time. I waited for it to get light out that morning and I was ready to go. With my GPS watch turned on, I hit the start button. I'll spare you the details of every step but I will tell you that at mile 9 I felt like I had nothing left. 7 more to go and no chance of quiting, my new route was what they call out and back, just as the name describes, I ran until the GPS said 8 miles and turned around. In the beginning I didn't pay too much attention to my time, I knew I was running fast, and fast is good, right? Well at the end I was not running fast, I was running on empty and was just happy to get home. It wasn't until later in the day I put my GPS watch on my computer. I was able to look at each mile and my time. Well, no wonder I ran out of steam, my first 5 miles were way faster than I should have been running, so hard to tell while I was doing it though. I have quite a few more long days before race time so I'll give it another shot next weekend, the distance is 18 mi. Slow and steady wins the race! I'll let you know how I do. Happy running.

1 comment:

  1. The good news is now you know, so you'll be sure not to go out too fast on marathon day. That's when it counts.

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