Friday, July 25, 2014

Pacing...Why is it so darn hard?

I cannot figure out how to keep a steady running pace for anything! Ideally, I would like to run my slowest mile first. This way I would have the energy to make my run last longer without feeling like I might die of a heart attack along the way. It never fails that I leave from my house and by the time I reach mile 1 I have run a mile under 9 minutes. I don't recognize that I am running this quickly because I feel great! About half way through my way to mile 2 I begin to feel the fatigue from running such a fast first mile. My second mile ends up being closer to a 10 minute mile. By mile 3, I am tired because I am reaching the end of my comfortable running distance at this pace, but I'm motivated to not see another 10 minute mile, so I push myself to run faster. This usually results in a mile that is somewhere between 9:15-9:30 pace.


I have a Garmin Forerunner 10 that I use to help mark my distance and to check my mile splits. I have not explored the technology enough to figure out how I can keep tabs on my pace. Right now I occasionally check my time to see how I'm doing, but doing math and running at the same time is not a multitasking skill that I have conquered yet. My husband has told me that there is a way to keep track of your pace on the watch and that it will beep to keep track of where I'm at.

Why do I care so much about my pace? I am hoping to run a sub 2 hour half marathon at the end of October, which means I need to be running 9 minute miles. 

I'm looking for advice and tips on how to keep track of my pace. What works for you?

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