Today’s Run
Time – 1:09:26
Distance – 7.1 miles
Pace – 9:43 min/mi
Elevation – 240 ft.
All of my posts on runs seem to be coming the day after I actually do the run, but I’m still getting the data out there. I went out to do 7 miles, did 7.1, and felt great. Slow running, kept the heartrate down to make this a long recovery from the group run on Wednesday. It was windy on the way out, but there is a huge hill at the start of the second half, so no negative split.
Getting the legs to turnover
So…I figured out that it’s best to make sure that I check on the start of Thanksgiving dinner BEFORE I go on my run, otherwise, we end up 20 minutes late. Sorry, Mom!
Running on Wednesday, we were keeping a good pace on the way back in from the run, and I was having to push to keep up. As I was going, I experimented with a much quicker cadence than I normally get. I don’t have the ability to track it yet (it’s coming in the Christmas Gift), but I could tell I was moving the feet more. It had two affects: 1) the heartrate stayed much higher, and 2) I felt much smoother moving down the trail. It’s a trade-off, therefore. I don’t have the best cardio endurance and capacity yet. I’m still overcoming the years of fat. But if I can get the heart to be better/stronger/more efficient, which will take more long, slow runs, I’ll be able to increase my turnover and get more speed.
It’s not going to be about a big, long stride for me. My legs are short for my height, which will limit my stride length and overall top speed. But I’m not looking for the Olympics, here. I want to find 18:00-ish minute 5k pace. I’m looking to do 6:00/miles for 3 miles, which is an 18:38, or thereabouts. Will it happen? I don’t know, but I have to have a goal.
My Strava mile best on Wednesday went down again, too. 8:11 for a mile in the midst of a 5 mile run. I’m continuing to get faster. Is there a 6:00/mile in there, somewhere?
I Will Run Today 