It seems like it's been awhile since my long runs were 'only' 4 miles. In late April through early June, I'd worked up to long runs of 6-8.5 miles. But, then the HEAT & the vacations happened. So, I've not been doing 'long' runs.
Today, though, was my 2nd run with my new running group. (It's part of USA Fit...I think they might have branches around the country.) Anyway, I ran with the HM group last week, since I'm only preparing to run a HM (well, actually 3 HMs!). But, today I tried out the marathon group. It put my long run at 4 miles in stead of 2. But, with a start time of 7:15 am, it was already in the low 80's...and in the mid 80's when we finished!
I started off on my own, but hooked up with another lady after about .5 miles. We stayed together the rest of the time. It was great to have a running buddy, and we really helped each other out!
She has been with the group for 6 years! She has trained for a marathon for the past 5 or 6 years, and yet always ended up injured so never actually ran one! She's trying again, and I hope she makes it. This year, she said she's adding strength training (ST)- something she hasn't done in the past. I hope it helps her to train without injuries! I DO think ST is very important to endurance running.
We made it through about 1.7 miles wihout walking. I was going to try to make it to mile 2, but she suggested a 1 minute walk. We walked. We ended up walking for 1 minute four different times. I think I could have skipped the last walk, but her hip was starting to feel a little something and I'd rather stick with her.
We ended up running an average of 12:51 for each of the four miles. That's a pretty normal 'long run' pace for me, though I hope to get down around 12:00 when the cooler weather hits! Although we were trying to stay pretty consistant and not start too fast, we did get slower with each mile...12:09, 12:40, 13:09, 13:27. There were also several hills - especially during the 2nd & 3rd miles, so that accounts for part of it. And, the 2nd & 3rd mile had a lot more sun than the 1st & 4th.
I'm enjoying being part of a group. Today, I think I would have walked a lot more if others hadn't been around me! Oh, and I won a 'door prize!' Our local shoe store was there for a weekly talk (different speakers each week - neat!) and I won a water bottle filled with goodies - a pair of socks, 2 gels, 2 nutrition bars, and a lipbalm. Cool!
No comments:
Post a Comment