I just entered into week 3 of my half marathon training. The first couple weeks have gone by with different strides. Week 1 was filled with excitement. I ran 5 times, felt great and followed my plan.
Week 2 was filled with excuses. I ran 3 times and they felt like pretty tough runs.
Week 3 started on Sunday with my long run – 6 miles. My little brother (who’s running the half as well) and I set off in the late drizzly morning. I could tell another tough run was going to happen. I struggled and had to tell Trevor to not let me walk. I just wanted to pack up my suitcase and get out of there, but I knew it would be over soon enough if I just kept one foot in front of the other.
I had to play tricks with my mind to get through it – I’d find an object about 200-300 meters ahead and tell myself I only had to run till there. Once I got there I’d pick a new object. It actually worked pretty well.
In the end it turns out we were running pretty fast which is why the run was so challenging. Trevor is a fast runner, but usually slows down for me. Last week’s 5.5 mile long run was done at 8:40min/mile. Sunday’s 6.1 mile run was at 8:10min/mile. Yikes! I’ve never ran that fast but it explains why I had such a tough time getting through it.
Looks like I’m making my way to the 8min/mile goal for the half marathon. I just have to make sure I run with my buddy because I know I won’t be moving my legs that fast on my own.
Do you run/exercise with anyone? Does it motivate you to go faster/work harder? It sure does for me.
