slow and long

So the running magazines (yes, picking up a copy of Runner's World at the grocery store makes me feel like a runner) and the half-marathon training plans for beginners all say to do one long run a week and make it slow--a conversational pace.

I always figured that it was impossible for me to run at a conversational pace until I became a much better runner. (That is, I always just assumed that even super slow for me would be too difficult to be an easy, conversational pace.)

But today, I found out that if I really do just slow down and run whatever pace my body feels like running, no matter how slowly my watch says I'm going, I can actually run at a comfortable pace.

It took me a while to get into it. I didn't start feeling relaxed until after the first mile and it wasn't really even until the third mile that I really knew I'd finish all four. I think that was probably a combination of getting into the running zone and partly that when I'm first starting, even my slow jog is too fast for long run pace, so I have to start to fatigue into mile two and three to actually slow down to long run pace.

When I was at about 3.5 miles and exploring a new neighborhood, I thought that maybe I could go more than 4 today. As I approached 4 miles and was already at 51 minutes (like I said--slow!), I decided to shoot for an hour. Then as I was nearing an hour, I figured I might as well do the last little more than a third of a mile and be able to finish off at 5 miles.

And I did! I ran 5 miles!

Here are my pace per miles and average heart rates: 11:47 146 bpm; 12:26 156 bpm; 12:56 159 bpm; 13:30 160 bpm; 13:24 162 bpm. Overall average: 12:49 min mile and 156 bpm

So, I think I'm going to start an official beginners half-marathon training plan now. I will modify it as necessary, but I'm going to try to stick to one long, slow run a week, the speed work they recommend, the faster shorter runs, and the recovery runs. My friend Vivian sent me a link to one she swears by, but now it's not working any more. :(