The First Step
It's been a long time since my first post; well, I was busy running! On Saturday, 10th June, I completed my first "long run" for the marathon training. It was a lot of fun, with a lot of promising training sessions to follow.
I ran 5 miles the very first day! And it was a great 5 miles at that. I had started off with the intention of doing 4 miles (we were given a choice of 2, 4, or 6 miles). Here's the originally planned 4 mile route that we were supposed to run. However, our group took a left when joining the Steven's Creek trail from Whisman Park, instead of a right, and eventually ended up running 1 mile extra.
Surprisingly, none of us felt the burden of the additional mile. The beauty of running with such a huge group is that you are bound to find someone who runs at exactly the same pace as you, no matter how fast or slow you are. Sure enough, I found a couple of ladies who ran with me for all the 5 miles of the trail. We were chatting all the way, and before we realized it, we were done with the loop!
Honestly speaking, one of the ladies- a mentor in TNT, and who must be in her 50s, and who has run one marathon and three half marathons- was doing most of the talking. I was amazed at her fitness level. Here I was, trying to catch my breath between the running and the little talking that I was doing, and she seemed so much more at ease. I really wish that when I am her age, I can be as fit as her.
The next long run will be a 6 mile run. I will write in more detail about the training schedule that we are supposed to follow until the marathon, in future posts.
I ran 5 miles the very first day! And it was a great 5 miles at that. I had started off with the intention of doing 4 miles (we were given a choice of 2, 4, or 6 miles). Here's the originally planned 4 mile route that we were supposed to run. However, our group took a left when joining the Steven's Creek trail from Whisman Park, instead of a right, and eventually ended up running 1 mile extra.
Surprisingly, none of us felt the burden of the additional mile. The beauty of running with such a huge group is that you are bound to find someone who runs at exactly the same pace as you, no matter how fast or slow you are. Sure enough, I found a couple of ladies who ran with me for all the 5 miles of the trail. We were chatting all the way, and before we realized it, we were done with the loop!
Honestly speaking, one of the ladies- a mentor in TNT, and who must be in her 50s, and who has run one marathon and three half marathons- was doing most of the talking. I was amazed at her fitness level. Here I was, trying to catch my breath between the running and the little talking that I was doing, and she seemed so much more at ease. I really wish that when I am her age, I can be as fit as her.
The next long run will be a 6 mile run. I will write in more detail about the training schedule that we are supposed to follow until the marathon, in future posts.
posted by Pradnya at 11:29 PM
5 Comments:
i always wonder how do folks manage to talk or chat during a run ? doesnt it actually impede the performance?
I guess these experienced people are just quite comfortable with talking while running. I am not all that used to it, but I can manage to keep a conversation going. About performance- at least during the long runs, since timing is not that very important, I guess people are okay with talking. Once we start the tempo runs, we might see less of the talking.
*gulp* 5 miles!!! I still have to get to the 1.5 mile mark on the treadmill.!!
thedq, I am sure if you persist and keep pushing yourself to do more and more, you will get there!
You are absolutely right pradnya, you should definitely talk during the long runs ... that also indicates that you are running at a comfortable enough pace and not overstraining and risking injury ... for tempo and speed runs, you are probably running at 90% of max effort so most folks don't spend the effort to talk.
Post a Comment
<< Home