I've incorporated a new training method, and I call it the "chase" training run. A few weeks ago I joined the RMs on another one of our long runs on the trail at Forest Park. I had to be home by 9 am, and while the others planned to go 10 miles, i thought that would be pushing it. So when we reached the 4.5 mile marker, I turned around to run back to the trailhead. Knowing the others were capable of catching up and even passing me, I didn't want that to happen, so I picked up the pace, determined to hold on until the end. I ended up running the second half in 39 minutes, an average of 8:40 a minute. I was winded, but I felt pretty good. None of the others caught up, and I'm guessing I had a decent lead for the majority if the group. However, I quickly found out that I only had three minutes to spare for two of the mamas; Katherine was in a mission to catch me! She would have if we had run another quarter or half of a mile!
Just before the holidays my schedule, like so many others, was erratic. I couldn't join the group runs, and evenings were committed to get-togethers and parties. I squeezed a run in when I could, which limited me to running near my house rather than drive somewhere. I was bored of my usual loop, so I decided to take a slight detour on a quiet road that goes up and over a considerable hill. It's also a road that has many large homes with tall hedges and bordering the properties. As I was running up the hill, I saw that one of these homes had a circular drive, and in the center of the circle was a large statue of a grizzly bear standing in the I'm-about-to-maul-you position. If you know me, you know I don't like life-size statues of anything, be it people or animal. I don't even like mounted elk heads on the wall, so this statue freaked me out to say the least. I picked up the pace and essentially ran for my life for the remaining 2.5 miles. I think I even looked back over my shoulder, you know, in case the damn thing actually came to life and decided to attack me. In the end, I ran the 3.7 mile route in 32 minutes 47 seconds (average 8:52). So much for the easy run I had set out to do. But funny enough, I liked the route enough to do it another time over the holidays, and I ran a minute faster at 31:47 (average 8:35).
The holidays are over now, and our household routine and usual family obligations are back in full swing. Unfortunately, the daylight hours are still too short for my work schedule, and since I am generally bad at running over lunch, I'm left to run when it's dark (and cold) out. My neighborhood is surrounded on three sides by high-traffic roads (the fourth side is a private golf course), so I'm hesitant to run or cross those boundaries in the mornings and evenings. On the other hand, my neighborhood is incredibly quiet by comparison, so it's my go-to for short 2-3 mile runs. Still, I don't like the dark, and the neighborhood's evening quiet spooks me even more. As a result, I run like someone is chasing me, and an effort to slow down is squashed by my fear that maybe someone really is chasing me (I live in such a safe area that my husband finds this rather amusing). On Tuesday I ran 2.91 miles in 23:46, an average of 8:15. Clearly, if anyone were to chase me, I'd hope to God they were slow and/or out of shape! My pace is still clearly all of the map, but that may just depend on how "threatened" I feel.
A thirty-something running mama in Portland, OR, who finds sanity in lacing up her Nikes, enjoys the challenge that running and racing brings, but doesn't run very fast. I try to improve my speed with each race, and I share my efforts here.