If you were to judge purely from my Instagram account, this blog and my photography, you'd think that all I ever do is hike. That's not true, of course. I also run. In fact, I run more than I hike; I just don't take pictures while I'm running! I'm not a fabulous runner; by most standards, I'm still a "beginner" runner. Concluding my second year of running, I look on this past year and realize how far I've come.
One year ago, I completed my second 10K ever, at just barely under an hour (and I was happy about that!). When I feel frustrated with my progress, it helps to realize that in the past 12 months, I've completed a 10 Miler and a half-marathon--both at paces faster than last year's 10K. My 5K time is slower, true, but my endurance is longer, so it's a bit of a trade-off.
The last month of running has been terribly inconsistent, and it's showing, both in slower times and less endurance. Some of the reasons were out of my control, so I decided to frame it as "an unasked-for, but necessary, recovery period." Every runner needs a few weeks of downtime to avoid overtraining and burn-out. I didn't plan to do it right now, but hey ... silver lining.
Since last July, I've been running largely by feel, and I've found I really like that method. It was necessary, as I was attempting to recover from a groin injury. I ran only as much as I could without aggravating the injury. When I wasn't worrying about hitting a pre-determined pace, my pace actually improved dramatically. Now that I'm working on getting back up to my proper fitness level, I'm back to running whatever feels good on any particular day. Usually, that entails a good, hard, tempo run, an easy run, and a long run each week. I also add in speed work (which never "feels good") when preparing for a race.
My tempo runs went from being something I dreaded to my favorite run of the week. Today's tempo run is a bit off what I'd like to see, but it still feels good to be back out there and working up a good sweat.
One year ago, I completed my second 10K ever, at just barely under an hour (and I was happy about that!). When I feel frustrated with my progress, it helps to realize that in the past 12 months, I've completed a 10 Miler and a half-marathon--both at paces faster than last year's 10K. My 5K time is slower, true, but my endurance is longer, so it's a bit of a trade-off.
The last month of running has been terribly inconsistent, and it's showing, both in slower times and less endurance. Some of the reasons were out of my control, so I decided to frame it as "an unasked-for, but necessary, recovery period." Every runner needs a few weeks of downtime to avoid overtraining and burn-out. I didn't plan to do it right now, but hey ... silver lining.
Since last July, I've been running largely by feel, and I've found I really like that method. It was necessary, as I was attempting to recover from a groin injury. I ran only as much as I could without aggravating the injury. When I wasn't worrying about hitting a pre-determined pace, my pace actually improved dramatically. Now that I'm working on getting back up to my proper fitness level, I'm back to running whatever feels good on any particular day. Usually, that entails a good, hard, tempo run, an easy run, and a long run each week. I also add in speed work (which never "feels good") when preparing for a race.
My tempo runs went from being something I dreaded to my favorite run of the week. Today's tempo run is a bit off what I'd like to see, but it still feels good to be back out there and working up a good sweat.
Looking toward 2015, I'm trying to identify my goals. I think the first thing to do is knock that 5K goal of a sub-25:00 race out. Actually, I want to run a sub-8:00/mile race. I've been close, but never quite got there. So that's the first order of things. People think 5Ks are easier than all the other, longer races, but I disagree. Yes, they're shorter, but in my experience they're harder to run. They're harder to pace, and there's less room for making adjustments (or mistakes) during the race. I run harder than usual, making me drop-dead exhausted at the end of the race. I never feel as wiped out at the end of the longer races as I do with the 5K.
My second goal is to run another half-marathon, probably in the fall, maybe in late spring. My first half was a downhill race, so the question in my mind is, can I run a flat race in the same (or less) amount of time? I need to know, so that's what I'll be working on over most of next year.
At the end of the day, it's all for fun, and that's why I do a lot of other fun 5Ks, 10Ks, and other races throughout the year. Are you a runner? What are your goals for 2015?
My second goal is to run another half-marathon, probably in the fall, maybe in late spring. My first half was a downhill race, so the question in my mind is, can I run a flat race in the same (or less) amount of time? I need to know, so that's what I'll be working on over most of next year.
At the end of the day, it's all for fun, and that's why I do a lot of other fun 5Ks, 10Ks, and other races throughout the year. Are you a runner? What are your goals for 2015?