track fan

Nice run. I thought of you this morning while reading a Marathon & Beyond article about attitude and performance. In particular, a section about not Garmin gazing. I might need to renew that in myself.

I think you're running very strong, though I know you've had a little set back recently. I'm sure your in great shape according to most people's standards. I wonder what race shape is to you.

I am honored to have been a part of your run today Sno!!

It is pretty funny how people adapt. Even though I don't have a garmin, and try really really hard, not to focus my training in how fast I am going (unless my training specifically calls for me to pay attention to it) I STILL find ways to continually evaluate my pace. I have landmarks and still check to see how long it takes to reach them. As a matter of fact, just this morning I was thinking about how much faster I am running most of my easy runs -- I was thinking that I was going to have to run a little farther from now on to make sure I am still running for the same length of time!! I don't think I will ever give up my "Bonnie Miles" though -- I like estimating how long I should run by assuming I am running 9 min pace. Even though I probably run a little faster than that some of the time, in the big scheme of things it is negligible and the only metric that really matter is how well we do on race day!! I have had so many friend that have felt disappointed with their races, only to have it really due to unrealistic expectations and not their ability.

Hi Carolyn, race shape is the shape that you get in before a key race. In the past, it has taken me about 4 weeks of targeted training to get my 5-10K pace dialed in. For example, last year I took my 5 x 1 mile workout pace down 4-6 secs/mile in 4 weeks). Usually, I run one or two races that I know I am not really "trained" for, just so I can set realistic goals for specific key races.