oh my when does this END, batman?!
so something i've noticed lately?!
yeahhhh.. um. running faster?! *kinda* makes you go further.
and while thats all good and fine when talking in race terms.. when running for time?! ugh.
it just tires me out.
cuz see the thing is... running for distance, that's just how far you run. no matter how fast you go, if you take a break to walk, if you're mister speedy... it doesn't matter. because in the end, you've run XX far... and you're done.
running for time though... jeez.
it just keeps going.. and going.. and going.
several points on my run tonight.. which i hadn't exactly mapped out beforehand, but i roughly knew how long i *thought* it should take me...
i figured.. ok. i have to have been running for half an hour by now. i HAVE to. i'm way too far into this run to not at least be around 30 minutes...
i'd look down and SON OF A B*TCH. not even close!! 22 minutes.. thats like barely half way!
using google's pedometer to map out my runs.. after the fact, makes running for time sort of an interesting game of ok if i go down that street, it'll take me to that intersection, which i think will take me 8 minutes to get to... so thats half an hour... and then 10 more minutes till i'm on my street... and i'm DONE!
SWEET!
except i'm never right. so "that" intersection quickly becomes "that" parking lot... which becomes "that" side street, "that" corner... and OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE MY FORTY MINUTES AREN'T UP YET. wtf??!
*sigh*
tonight though.. i felt like i was haulting ass.
and while i didn't want to fool myself into thinking a :40 minute run would actually = a 4 mile run.. i sort of maybe secretly was hoping it would.
what i found out though.. after running. and running.
and checking my watch.. and running. and checking and running AND THEN RUNNING SOME MORE
(yes. i realize 40 minutes of running is not that far. but as i said... hauling. ass. this is not an easy thing for me to do. and when "to the next tree" doesn't quite cut it, and every 2 mintues you look down only to see that you have 2 more minutes to go...
FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD you just want to be done already!!)
is that tonight i ran 39:46.
and if you do the math.. at 3.7249 miles, thats a 10:40 pace.
so while its not quite 4 miles... it's almost.
and while a 10:40 pace isn't quite 10 and a half... it's close.
and if running down one more street.. one more corner.. one more intersection, parking lot, stop light, sign or crack in the road is what it's going to take to knock this training stuff out, then..
that's what i'll do.
(and if i'm not careful... i might even have fun doing it!
but shhh. i never said that.)
Comments
Haha this is awesome! Love it!
You're so right - I find it much easier to be able to cross off the landmarks as you run rather than visualize the time ticking down. For that reason, I stick to distance targets, based on my expected pace. Time targets are too demoralizing for me.
Posted by: Dave | August 14, 2007 10:28 PM
okay this is ironic bc i have to run for time, and i think for me, running for time is MUCH easier than running for distance. i just go out and there and run, and it doesn't matter how fast or slow i go, when the time is up, the time is up!
last night i had to run 50 minutes in my low heart rate zone. so i didnt map anything out, i just ran. and i dont even care how far i went, but i know i ran 50 minutes. and then i went to the gym and biked for 60 and was ready to chop my legs off.
so maybe distance is better. i dont know, i need a beer.
Posted by: Kim | August 15, 2007 8:50 AM
oh, and i did just google map my run...it was about 5.25 miles...so whatever. now i kinda wish i didnt know! time is so much better!
Posted by: Kim | August 15, 2007 8:57 AM
Sounds like you need to get a Garmin 305, it's great. You can run wherever you want, tells you real time how far, and when you get back home it'll do all the mapquest/google tracing for you.
I use to follow the same paths all the time, now the world where I run is all open and I can wherever I want on a whim.
Posted by: The Clyde | August 15, 2007 9:01 AM
I was running for time on my shorter runs over the summer and I constantly kept getting back to my house too early and having to run around the block three times. I decided I slack off running that way because there is no incentive to run faster since I won't get it done any quicker :-)
Posted by: Danielle in Iowa | August 15, 2007 9:07 AM
I'm not much for running for time, I way prefer the distance! But then again I've been accused of being a slave to the Garmin of always wanting to know how far I go on a run. What can I say....I just like to know these things.
Posted by: Leana | August 15, 2007 9:59 AM
I'm sure it's all good for you!
And in three weeks, there'll be that much more of it ;-)
Posted by: Brent Buckner | August 15, 2007 10:06 AM
Isn't it amazing how training works that way?!?
Glad to see your improvement.
Now if you can only start to enjoy swimming…
Posted by: trisonq | August 15, 2007 10:59 AM
Sh*t girl, you're going to be laying down 9 min miles before you know it - then you'll have to run for distance or you'll run out of road.
Posted by: Phoenix | August 15, 2007 11:44 AM
Just remember not to run fast every time out the door. If you pick your spots (i.e. particular workouts on a regular basis), your speed should develop more quickly. But really, nice job so far.
What happened with Soccer Boy?
Posted by: Donald | August 15, 2007 11:55 AM
I used to do the same thing... figure if I go here, then there, then over there, surely that will take me 45 minutes. But then.. nope... still gotta keep going. SO aggrivating! So now I pick out the complete route beforehand & see if I can make it faster each week.
Posted by: erin | August 17, 2007 8:32 PM