Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Running by Feel vs Pace

I'm doing two things different that I haven't done since I started running and that is running every other day instead of 3 or 4 days a week on certain days and wow, I can already tell a huge difference. Since I don't go more than 2 days without a run, I don't loose motivation since on non-running days I'm doing cross training such as cycling, swimming, yoga or strength training while still getting proper rest from running.

The second thing I'm doing different is running by feel and not trying to maintain a certain pace. I tried the "run for x pace" for 3 years and it worked for a little while then I would hit a plateau or get injured, then would get frustrated and loose motivation and my pace would then get slower, not faster. With this new approach of running, I actually enjoy running.

It took me a while to figure this out, but my easy, moderate and hard pace changes depending on a variety of different things. Weather, the course, nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress and even the time of the month for us women can all play a huge factor on what pace feels easy for a run so by learning to run by feel instead of worrying about pace has made running a lot more enjoyable. I also learned to stop comparing runs, it's like comparing apples to oranges as each one is different and unique in its own way.

Take for example, January's Race for the Grasshopper 5K. In 2011, it was cold and windy with temps in the 30s but in 2012, the weather was mild and in the 50s. Same race, same course, same week out of the year, yet different factors and therefor different results.

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