Speed is all about perspective. To someone training for a half marathon just to complete, running it in two hours is fast. To someone training to complete the half in two hours, one hour and forty minutes is fast. Very fast. Last night, I headed to the running room where a “group” of people were doing a final 10 kilometers before the race. Normally, I’d just do this by myself but with school consuming my life, I didn’t have time to run in the morning and I find it difficult to do long distances by myself at night. When I showed up at the Running Room there was only one other attendee (The group doesn’t usually meet on Tuesdays and I guess no one else could make it). The solo-man was about 40 and training with the one hour and forty minutes group. Having both showed up for motivation to run at dinner time, we decided we would compromise and run at a middle pace, the race pace of a 1:50 marathon: a pace of five minutes a kilometer. I wasn’t two worried because although I’ve been training with the two hour group I actually run much faster on my own. Well, this man put a little modesty back in my step. From the second we started running, my legs could feel the difference. When I looked down at my watch, I realized we were running at the 1:40 race pace, a pace anywhere from 4:40- 4:50 minutes a kilometer. We held that pace for the entire 10 kilometer run. Thanks for compromising sir. At around 8 kilometers, I asked the man of few words, to go ahead and finish the run strong. Truth is, I would have appreciated a two-kilometer breather. But no, this man was not having it. “You can do, it’s just up that road,” he said. But I was wearing my Garmin and I was fully aware of how long we had to go. When you’re tired and running way faster than you’ve trained, two kilometers can seem like a mini half-marathon. The best part was, with a couple hundred meters left, I again asked my new friend to go ahead and sprint to the store. He politely responded that it was close to race day and he didn’t want to push himself too hard. I was laughing so hard inside my head.
We completed the 10 kilometers in 48 minutes. Truth is, if I was training for a 10 k race, I would be looking to complete in less than 50 minutes. That pace is average for someone my age. But I haven’t been training for 10 k; I’ve been training for a two-hour half marathon, which is significantly slower than a pace of 4:50k /minute. Looking back at it this morning, the run was probably great training for the race. For some reason that I can’t explain, Running Room doesn’t run race pace until the last couple weeks. Therefore, the actual pace of your run is way faster than you’ve been training. The idea is that with hill training and long, steady runs, your muscles are so strong you can just lightning bolt through the race. But it’s an unsuccessful theory for the majority of people: most people train with the time group under the time they want to complete in. So, someone who wants to complete the half marathon in two hours would train with the 1:50 group. I obviously didn’t get the memo until it was too late. But here I am, five days away from my second half marathon. I’m a little nervous. I haven’t trained as much as I would have liked. The longest I’ve run this year is 17 kilometers. Working every Sunday morning, I was forced to do long runs by myself. Although I love running, usually around 12 kilometers I start fantasizing about chocolate or something just as delicious.
We completed the 10 kilometers in 48 minutes. Truth is, if I was training for a 10 k race, I would be looking to complete in less than 50 minutes. That pace is average for someone my age. But I haven’t been training for 10 k; I’ve been training for a two-hour half marathon, which is significantly slower than a pace of 4:50k /minute. Looking back at it this morning, the run was probably great training for the race. For some reason that I can’t explain, Running Room doesn’t run race pace until the last couple weeks. Therefore, the actual pace of your run is way faster than you’ve been training. The idea is that with hill training and long, steady runs, your muscles are so strong you can just lightning bolt through the race. But it’s an unsuccessful theory for the majority of people: most people train with the time group under the time they want to complete in. So, someone who wants to complete the half marathon in two hours would train with the 1:50 group. I obviously didn’t get the memo until it was too late. But here I am, five days away from my second half marathon. I’m a little nervous. I haven’t trained as much as I would have liked. The longest I’ve run this year is 17 kilometers. Working every Sunday morning, I was forced to do long runs by myself. Although I love running, usually around 12 kilometers I start fantasizing about chocolate or something just as delicious.
Last Sunday, in plus-two weather, I ran a 13 kilometer run by myself. It was the perfect day for a run and I pray for similar conditions next Sunday. Originally my plan for the last week was to run every day until Thursday and take Friday and Saturday off. After last night, I decided to take this morning off, to rest my legs, after running a 5 kilometer run Monday and Tuesday morning. I’ll be back to the snow covered pavement tomorrow morning and I will consider running on Friday. At this point, running is not going to help me train so I’m not going to overdo it. All I can do now is eat healthy and drink a lot of water. My mom gets into town tomorrow (SO EXCITED!) and we have a low-weekend planned consisting of walking, shopping, and gluten-free treats! I’m nervous about my mom flying all the way out here to watch me run, but at the end of the day, I know she doesn’t care about my time. The truth is, I joined the hypothermic half running clinic to be motivated to run throughout the long winter months. And the training has fulfilled its purpose: It consistently got me on the Halifax streets in the dead of winter. My goal is still to finish under 2 hours but if I don’t complete my half marathon at my best time, I won’t be too hard on myself. I’m already excited to start training for the Ottawa half marathon in May. I plan to complete that in 1:50, an ambitious goal.
But for now, my focus on is Sunday. They say if you can run 16 kilometers you can physically run a half marathon. I hope “they” are right.
One or two runs left and then the race... Wish me luck!
Running Romance
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