Pace Groups

We're up to two sets of 10:1 this week in the 5k clinic. This isn't anything new. What is new, is the fact that I now seem to be fast. Or at least, fast for me.

It must be part of the whole build-up-and-then-taper-slightly thing, but it feels kind of like a light switch has been turned on. For the past three months or so (since I took up running), I've always been towards the back of the group.

Today, we set off on our group run, ready for a good workout. There's a long hill right outside the Running Room, and I thought for sure that many other runners would pass me right from the get-go. Instead, I found myself setting the pace - for the first time, I was at the head of the pack!  How on earth did that happen?!?!

After a few minutes there were two of us way ahead of everyone else. After a while, we wondered if we'd taken a wrong turn, or if we'd missed our walk break, so we turned around and ran back a bit and caught up with the rest of the group (it's a very hilly and windy route, so it's easy to lose sight of people in a larger group). Turns out that yes, we'd missed our walk break by a bit, but Deb (our fantastic instructor) counted off the minute for us, and then we were off again.

The second half didn't go quite so well - you see, I have the bad habit of striding too wide. When I'm trying to go fast or catch up to someone, or when I'm distracted and not thinking about my form, my stride gets way too wide, my hips start to drop a bit, and my knees get sore.

I really have to work on that. I did so well on the first set of 10:1, but I went back to old habits in the second half; and, lo and behold, my knee started to get sore. Rather than keep running and have my knee get more sore, I ended up walking the last couple of minutes, but that's ok - I'm all about injury prevention wherever possible.

In fact, my personal mantra when running is "shorter stride, shorter stride, shorter stride..." I do actually tell myself this when I'm running if I've noticed that my form is getting sloppy. Pain sucks. I try to avoid it.

In other news, Deb put us into pace groups today, and it turns out I'm in group A!!  This is very exciting. I'm not used to being a fast runner. When I heard that, I felt like doing a little happy dance. I'm such a keener, lol.

Of course, the practice runs aren't about competition (unless it's with yourself); it's about becoming a better runner, and meeting and running with a great group of people. But I've got to say that if I'm competing with myself, I'm doing pretty well - it feels so great to not only be able to keep up with the group, but to be able to be at the front of the pack. At least for part of the run, anyway.

And here are a few things I've learned so far:

Hills are fun. No, really. It's a challenge to get up them, but it's so satisfying when you make it to the top successfully. And when you run downhill, it almost feels like you're flying. This has been fun so far, but I imagine it will be a little scary when there's snow and ice. And yes, I fully plan to be one of those crazy runners who goes out for a run in all seasons, regardless of weather.

Reflective bands are good. I bought a pair this weekend, and was so excited to be use them for the first time tonight. And then I forgot them at home. I'll revise this point that I've learned: reflective bands are good, and useful if you actually bring them with you.

Water is important. I always try to drink enough water before and after a run, but I should probably think about bringing water with me when I head out - especially if I'm starting to run faster, and eventually further. I got myself one of those fancy four-mini-water-bottles-on-a-belt-type-things. It's high time I started bring it with me. Plus, the water bottle belt has tons of reflectivity on it, which is a bonus.

Sleep is important. If I want to be successful as a runner, and if I want to be productive during the day when I'm working, I need to start getting enough sleep.

And on that note, I'll sign off. It's way past time for bed.

Happy Running,

Sarah :)