Learning to train faster

[Day 128]

I psych myself out a lot when I try to run fast. I consider myself a slow runner. You can put any amount of distance in front of me and I don't generally find it too daunting because I just tell myself I can run slowly and go forever. Fast running freaks me out and for the most part I feel like I can't do it in contexts that aren't racing. I'm trying to work on that though because I want to be faster and today went a long way towards boosting my confidence in my ability to run fast on just a normal day of the week.

Today's Workout: PM tempo run, 1 mi easy, 4 mi @ half marathon pace (8:10-8:25), some amount of WD
Summary: 5.82 mi, 51:54, 8:55 average pace, 175 spm average
Pace splits by mile: 9:31, 8:22, 8:17, 8:17, 8:19, 11:07
Hit Rate: 3/3 (100%)

The run didn't feel as hard as I was expecting it to. Once I settled in, it took a lot of focus to hold the pace but it didn't really get painful until about 2.5 miles into the run. The last mile hurt but it didn't feel like I had to reach too hard to stay on pace, it was just that it was starting to get to me by then. I really tried to focus on my breathing because Henry had commented that my breathing yesterday was atrocious, and I think it helped today, both with my running and with keeping myself mentally calm so I could stay relaxed through what my body was feeling. Henry biked alongside me while I ran today and really helped keep me positive and keep my confidence up which was super key. I was definitely scared going into this workout and doubtful of my ability to do a training run at this pace and to have him reassure me as I was going really helped get me through enough miles to objectively look at my effort and say to myself, "everything is okay and I can do this". It's crazy that I still doubt myself even though I've done a half marathon at that pace but honestly I just never train at anything close to race pace so playing around with that on a normal day is still a new phenomenon for me.

Between yesterday and today, I'm feeling really good about everything that's coming up with run training. Seeing as I can't really bike or swim or lift for the time being with all the bike crash related injuries, I'll just keep focusing on my running and trying to make the best of this situation. I'm excited to spend a bit of time just working on getting faster and building confidence in my ability to train faster than the moderate pace I like to take all my running at. Happy Saturday! (:

Much love,
Jess