Taking it Easy is Hard

   

   I glance down at my GPS, I’m hitting 6:10 per mile pace. This is not what the plan was, this is supposed to be an easy run at 7:15 pace.  Every time I look down at my GPS I’m going about a minute faster than I want. I have to constantly check my pace, it feels so awkward to be running this slow. More importantly, what if someone sees me running this slow. Of course this is just my ego, in reality nobody cares how fast or slow someone else is running.

   After about three years of running I felt like I was no longer making any improvements. I had reached a plateau. What was worse, it felt like it was getting more and more difficult to run at my current level. I could feel it in my legs when I headed out for a run. I was tired.

   All my runs were being done at about marathon pace, with the exception of speed days, which were even faster.  My training didn’t include any easy days and eventually it caught up with me. I started feeling the results of all this training right in the middle of my build up for an upcoming marathon. I had run my last marathon in 2:49 and I had developed an aggressive plan to run 2:39 in my next effort at the distance.

   The day of the marathon came and I felt tired before the gun went off. It took all I had to hit the 6:03 per mile pace I had planned for the race. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hang on, my body refused to continue at that pace around mile seventeen. I had never stopped running in a race before, but I had no choice. After a few minutes I started running again, but every time I would get close to my planned pace I would have to stop again. Finally, I acquiesced and finished the rest of the race at an eight minute pace, finishing in 2:59.

   In the weeks after the marathon I felt increasingly tired. I knew there was something wrong so I started looking into what might be the cause, though in my mind I already had an idea of my problem. After researching online, going through all my old running magazines, and rereading my running books my suspicions were confirmed; I was over doing it, not taking proper recovery days and not doing true easy runs.

For the past few months now I have been doing a couple easy runs a week. Sundays I do about an hour and a half at 7:30 pace, which feels dreadfully slow, Mondays I do an hour at that pace again. Fridays are for recovery; usually I’ll do five miles at 8:00 pace. The rest of the week is filled with speed, tempo, and progression runs. It’s not easy for me to run an easy pace, I have to constantly check myself and make corrections, but it’s starting to pay off. I’m feeling more like my old self again and I’m looking forward to seeing some PRs this summer. I’ll let you know how it goes.