Pace 7:56 min/km
I am ECSTATIC! After a tough and lousy week of running, it ended with a bang. :) I completed my first ever 16K run and it went swimmingly well! I used my music again to denote when it was 10 minutes of running and when it was 1 minute of walking - this worked VERY well. I am lucky to have figured this out for myself. Having the Garmin "free" to watch my pace and time makes me a better runner.
By the 4K mark, I was having to hold myself back - I felt like running at top speed and it took discipline to slow myself right down, knowing that as good as it felt at that moment, I would regret it later. Looking at my splits, I can see where I started to slowing down, feeling a little tired (over 8 min pace), and when I was feeling a surge of energy. I did find the last 2K more challenging but I was not "whipped" by this point. If anything, I felt like I could have pushed myself more.
I am definitely a fan of the 10:1 method now. This the second successful long distance I have been able to run and feel confident at the end that I can complete a half marathon. It makes all the difference to me to concentrate on ~2 songs and then to have my minute-long slow song act as a reminder to walk. Even though the minute walks feel like mere seconds, they seem to do the trick for giving me enough rest for the next 10 minute interval. And, darn it, I feel good for the rest of the afternoon instead of ravaged!
It does help that today the temperature had dropped significantly and that there was no humidity. In fact, I contemplated wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants because I felt chilled when standing outside in my shorts and new favourite running shirt (thank you, Harvest Run!). I am glad that I didn't, and I think wearing my baseball cap for the first time in awhile kept enough body warmth that I needed.
I HAVE to remember a run like this during the runs I have similar to earlier this week. Perseverance!
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