race pace and long run

My last few runs:

Pace Run
Saturday my training schedule called for 3 miles, I mis-read it and thought they were meant to be at race pace.  I warmed up for a mile, then tried to run at race pace for three miles, then cooled down for a mile.  My race pace ended up being faster than I wanted, with the last mile at 7:51 - oops!  It felt good though, the wind was at my back for the last half of the three miles, which made it a little easier.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	43:20.0	5.00	8:40
1	9:22.0	1.00	9:22
2	8:36.8	1.00	8:37
3	8:23.1	1.00	8:23
4	7:51.0	1.00	7:51
5	9:07.1	1.00	9:07

Long Run

Running along Rainbow Bridge

My long run was to be and hour and a half long: three quarters at a nice and easy pace, and then to pick it up for the last quarter.  I have always wanted to do this, but by the time I get to where I want to pick up the pace I feel tired and keep going at the easy pace.  Sunday was different.

I went in with a different mindset.  I said to myself right before I was to pick up the pace that I was using different muscles.  That I ran hard yesterday, and I didn't need to run that hard today, just to pick it up a little.  I want to run my next half marathon at around 8:45min/mile (fingers crossed!) so anywhere around that pace would be great.  I surprised myself.  I picked it up nicely. 8:40, 8:25 and then 8:23 for the last 0.6mile.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:30:02.6	9.63	9:21
1	9:51.2	1.00	9:51
2	9:35.3	1.00	9:35
3	9:33.2	1.00	9:33
4	9:34.1	1.00	9:34
5	9:46.4	1.00	9:46
6	9:38.4	1.00	9:38
7	9:41.9	1.00	9:41
8	8:40.4	1.00	8:40
9	8:25.1	1.00	8:25
10	5:16.7	0.63	8:23

Easy Run

Today I went out to Runner's Hi and bought new shoes!  Two pairs of Kinvara 5's!  I was almost going to buy a different type of shoe, but the last time I bought a different type I really regretted it.  They were just not very good.  I thought this time I would stick with what I know.  Next time I will research shoes a little and try something new.  These shoes made me run my easy run too fast!  my three miles today were too fast!  

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	26:52.5	3.00	8:57
1	8:56.0	1.00	8:56
2	8:58.9	1.00	8:58
3	8:55.2	1.00	8:55
4	:02.5	0.00	9:21

I also have the laziest dog ever.  Eating his dinner from bed!  Love this pup!

my last few runs

I am terrible at keeping up on what I have been doing with my runs.

So, from most recent to least, here is what I have been running the last few days.

Speedwork
Today was speedwork.  I did 8 x 400m (or .25 of a mile), with about 0.15 of a mile rest in-between.  I walked the first 0.10, then jogged the last 0.05 to get myself ready to run again.  This workout was meant to be done at 5k pace.  However, I ended up being faster.  Not good.  i need to work on doing it correctly!

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	51:12.1	5.50	9:19
1	9:50.7	1.04	9:27
2	1:51.7	0.25	7:27
3	1:54.4	0.15	12:43
4	1:51.9	0.25	7:28
5	1:54.1	0.15	12:41
6	1:51.0	0.25	7:24
7	1:56.7	0.15	12:58
8	1:51.2	0.25	7:25
9	2:00.2	0.15	13:22
10	1:47.0	0.25	7:08
11	1:56.4	0.15	12:56
12	1:43.6	0.25	6:54
13	1:56.5	0.15	12:57
14	1:42.5	0.25	6:50
15	1:50.6	0.15	12:17
16	1:42.8	0.25	6:51
17	1:42.1	0.15	11:21
18	11:49.0	1.26	9:23

In saying that I needed to go slower, the last four 400m were faster than the first four.  And my last 400m was fast, and not slower than the first.  So I am definitely happy about this run.

The best thing about speedwork is that you are focusing solely on what you are doing at that moment, and not looking at how many miles you are doing, so the time flies by.  I love it!

Easy Run

Yesterday was an easy run of 3 miles:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	27:36.4	3.00	9:12
1	9:24.2	1.00	9:24
2	9:09.6	1.00	9:09
3	9:02.6	1.00	9:03

I didn't look at my watch at all during this run, just tried to keep it easy.  I am pretty happy with my pace!

Long Run

My long run on Sunday was 90 minutes.  Because this run is my first long run back from my injury I didn't mind going shorter, but I was feeling good so I decided to go for the full 90 minutes.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:30:00.3	9.51	9:28
1	9:36.7	1.00	9:37
2	9:37.0	1.00	9:37
3	9:29.8	1.00	9:30
4	9:28.0	1.00	9:27
5	9:33.0	1.00	9:33
6	9:31.9	1.00	9:32
7	9:30.3	1.00	9:30
8	9:44.7	1.00	9:44
9	9:10.6	1.00	9:10
10	4:18.3	0.51	8:24

We had a cool morning for this long run, it felt so nice to run.  I didn't look at my watch once during this run - I was trying to keep it easy and go by feel.  Mile 8 was going up a hill at the end, and mile 9 is coming back down, which explains the times - otherwise I was pretty even (except for that last 0.5, where I tried to push myself).  I am going to try to add in a hill around mile 9 of my longer runs to help prep me for Diamond Head that will happen at around that time for the half marathon.  I am a little nervous about that part of the run!

Race Pace Run

On Saturday, the day before my long run I did a 'race pace' run.  It was 3 miles, so I did a mile warm up, ran three miles hard, then a mile to cool down.  I definitely ran this one too hard.  I am wanting my race pace to probably be at around 8:45-8:55 during the half marathon, so next time I will try to keep it more in line with that.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	43:36.6	5.00	8:43
1	9:25.4	1.00	9:25
2	8:28.8	1.00	8:28
3	8:20.1	1.00	8:20
4	8:12.1	1.00	8:12
5	9:08.4	1.00	9:08
6	:01.8	0.00	9:10

I am happy with the first mile at race pace, but then I went too fast.  I got tired quickly, and so I know I can't hold that pace for the length I want.  I just need to slow it down a little.

Overall I am pretty happy with my running.  I need to work on my pacing, but everything seems to be going along nicely.