Pace 7:28 min/km
Well, I wasn't supposed to run today - it was a scheduled day off - but I really really did not feel like running a third day in a row on Friday so I switched the days. And then I told myself to go for a short run because "ideally" you are not supposed to run the day before a race. However, it seems as if my inner child has taken control, as in "tell me what to do and I will do the opposite." :) It was a terrific morning weather-wise for running, and after running in so many bloody humid mornings this summer, it feels like a waste if I do not get a run in on a perfect running-weather day ...
It is also because, as I was running with TWO dogs (Kim and Wallace who made me proud with their good behaviour and perfect running pace), I asked myself what was more important - a great time tomorrow in a 5K race I have done twice before, or the half marathon coming up. You see, I have noticed a distinct change in the last month with my running. I feel resistant when it is a day when the scheduled run is in the 9K+ range. I was supposed to do a 9K, 10K and 11K this past week alone, and although I ran, I didn't go for the scheduled mileage. Even today when I completed my 9K "well" (splits were consistent; I felt good for the majority of it), I asked myself why I have this mental block for going for a 10K or an 11K. I'm not sure why that is.
Also, I wonder if I am feeling a little "lazy" about my half marathon training runs is because I do not have a PR to beat. Well, I guess that's not true in a sense because I DO have one half marathon under my belt. However, I walked for most of my half marathon back in 2003 and with the new run/walk method I have recently employed, I am going to 'break" that PR for sure (barring any on-route problems). Maybe it is because I realized that 2:30 is not realistic for me after all at this point, and as a result, I have stopped "pushing" myself, accepting that a 2:40 - 2:45 time is more realistic.
It may also have to do with the fact that I am losing weight so slowly. My weight loss is proving to be very stubborn, in spite of the km I am logging, and watching what I eat I think I would feel more motivated if I had lost minimally one size this summer, and was running at in the 6:45 min/km pace zone. I am stuck, it seems, in the 7:15-7:45 min/km zone ... from this perspective, all this running work hasn't done much for me ...
Anyway, what at first was going to be a 6K easy turned into an 8K turned into a what-the-heck 9K. I am VERY pleased with my 9K but the "cost" of doing this today may be a slower 5K tomorrow.
We'll see!
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