Wednesday, March 18, 2009

How Fast should a Slow Runner go?

I'm getting pretty excited about my 10K on Saturday.

I know that in training 6 miles has been a really good distance for me. I hit my rhythm around 4 miles and then coast right into 10. When I close in on 11, my knee/hip start to annoy me.

Getting my body used to running 13.2 miles has been my primary and (foolishly) singular focus in training and I've neglected any preparation required to "race" 6.2 miles.

Honestly, I have no idea how to gauge my pace during a run.

I can never say "Ok, legs...this is a 10:00/mile pace. Let's kick it up a notch!" I am just completely clueless. I don't worry about this on my long runs, but it's made setting a goal for my 10K challenging.

So I found a great pace calculator and used it to set a range of goals for Saturday:

"Remember this is a training run" 10K:
- Finish time: 1:10:00
- Average Pace: 11:15/mile (this is close to my pace during the Hangover Classic)

"Great First 10K" 10K:
-Finish time: 1:05:00
- Average Pace: 10:27/mile

"Bat of Slow Runnings-Hell" 10K:
-Finish time: 1:00:00
- Average Pace: 9:39/mile

As you can tell, I'm not banking on a "fast" day. Trust me, sub 10:00/miles ARE fast for me...

I guess my REAL goal for Saturday is simply to finish...just like any other race I signed up for. (And finish before all the volunteers go home and the open up the streets to downtown traffic again.) That would be gravy.

5 comments:

  1. good luck on meeting your gravy!

    I think you will finish it fantastically and I wish I was there to run it with you!

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  2. OMG...I would be lucky if I could get through 1 mile! lol...good luck!!

    PS - Check out my blog, there is something waiting for you there :)

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  3. Ok, this post scares me a little! My 10K (first race ever) is in May and I am so nervous. I would think that with your distance running you would feel so good about 10Ks!! I usually run 10 minute miles (4 miles max so far)...am I foolish to aim for an hour for my 10K?!

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  4. Thinspired-- an hour 10k is TOTALLY doable...sorry to scare you!

    When I ran first 10-miler, I started out WAY to fast and ended up walking by mile 7! It was a new-runner mistake. And my mid-distance runs are always a faster than average for me.

    I want to go as SLOW as I can to avoid any walking. I tend to get caught up in the crowd!

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