"Mom looks like a train wreck!" my daughter shouted when I entered the house this morning after my Sunday morning long run. She and my son giggled and danced around me as I hobbled to a mirror. I was sopping wet, muddy, red-faced, chafed under my arms, and I had last night's mascara dripping down my face, making me look more like a sad raccoon than a train wreck.
"I look like a train wreck," I thought, "but I feel like a goddess."
I had just run ten miles in a torrential downpour, without music, and my average pace was 10:16/mile. For the most part, I was comfortable during this run; the proof is that I was able to maintain a conversation with my two running peeps the whole time.
When you need to increase your pace, there are lots of ways to go: fartleks, intervals, ladder drills, tempo runs, hill drills. I try these on at least one short run a week, but I know I should do more. The best way to increase your pace is to get comfortable with running faster. Period. I have been slacking off on my long runs by going much more slowly than I should, even with the advice of going at least one minute per mile slower than half marathon pace. I knew I could do better, but how could I push myself? Shelby, from The Ohio Runner's Network, advised me to hook up with Jen and Michael on my long runs and my tempo runs, and today was the day I was finally able to do it.
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