Training session #2

Holy cow some people run fast! Last week I mentioned that there were some people in my group who ran significantly faster than I did. I guess my coach decided to enlist some extra help to cover the wide variance in speed so a couple extra coaches showed up this morning. The one who came to help with my group obviously became the "fast" coach when she announced that she would be taking the 9 minute mile group. Gah!! I don't think I've ever run a 9 minute mile! My running buddy Jennifer and I were a little floored. Luckily our coach Michele was awesome enough to stick around for us at the back of the group. Jennifer still ran faster than I did (which is normal), but by the end I think we had both blown our wads so to speak by starting at the same time as the faster group. I just could not keep up at all with them. My 12 minute mile pace, which has gotten really consistent lately, just wasn't cutting it.

The good news is that I wasn't struggling as much as I did last week, for which I can thank the running during the week. I stayed fairly steady not counting the early speeding. Michele kept reiterating that this is about endurance. Speed will come later. I really like that attitude, and the more I train the more I am looking forward to the Peachtree.

After the run we had bagels from Einstein Brothers (yum!!!) and a quick seminar on running shoes. I didn't stick around after wards because I had to run an errand, but I will be getting some new running shoes from the folks at Phidippides soon. I need to hurry on that if I want to wear them for the big race. Here's a couple things that were covered in the seminar that every runner should know:

1. Find the right shoe. Go to a specialty running store and have them analyze your running style. They need to see how your feet work to get you into the shoes that will support you the best. This will prevent injuries and take away any unnecessary hardship from running. Running is hard enough on its own, don't make it harder by wearing the wrong shoes (or clothes, or socks, or whatever).

2. Do not use your running shoes for anything but running. It seems simple and logical, but many of us just see sneakers as casual wear, not as a tool for working out. Simply put, if you wear out the cushion in your running shoes by walking in them all day, you've dramatically cut down the lifespan of those shoes. If you're going to be spending all that money on good shoes, make them last longer by treating them properly.

I think next week's run will be 50 minutes. I'm getting into some new territory here, so I'll be curious to see how I do. By increasing the time incrementally though it shouldn't be too bad.