What to do when your pace blows
It’s been over 2 weeks and I’m finally feeling like my old self and over the Black Plague cold.
I’m still taking some cold medicine but after taking so much time off from running and life, it feels good to be mostly back to normal.
What’s not back to normal?
The pace I’m running.
Maybe I’m still getting my energy back or just feeling the effects of holidays meals (hello sweet potato “casserole” that is dessert in disguise) and taking a lot of time off, but my pace lately has been around 9:00 min/miles which is slower for me.
{Oh hey, weekend meal of dirty martini and french fries.}
We’ve all been there… you were sick, had an injury, took a vacation or much needed break, you took time off for whatever reason and now you feel like you’ll never get back to where you were. Rationally you know you can, but emotionally it’s frustrating, disappointing and a big fat bummer when you’re gasping and wheezing your way through a run to look down at your Garmin and see THAT SLOW NUMBER?!
So what do you do to not drive yourself batty?
Say you used to run 3 miles in 30 minutes and now you can barely eek out 2.5 miles in the same amount of time.
*Go for total time instead of pace.
Try doing 35 minutes of sweating and don’t worry about how many miles you run or your pace. Decide that you’re going to make it through 35 minutes and walk if you need to, jog and run but don’t quit until you’ve hit your time limit.
*Do interval training.
There’s a ton of different interval workouts you can find online to do at a track, treadmill or where ever. It’s a lot harder to pay attention (and then be bummed) about your pace when you’re constantly changing it. Plus, intervals will help you become a faster runner. Check out this Runner’s World article for more info.
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*Use a heart rate monitor.
With a heart rate monitor you can still geek out on numbers but focus on your effort instead of your pace. Even if you’re not running as fast as you once were, chances are you’re still getting a good workout in. And if you aren’t, the evidence will be right there in front of your face telling you to pick it up.
*Run hills or trails.
This is what I’ve been doing the last couple days – intentionally choosing hilly routes. I know I’ll be running slower on them so there’s no point in even looking at my watch, but I also know I’m getting in a good workout and getting stronger. Check out Cait’s article for more hill running tips.
*Run with someone else or a group.
It’s a lot harder to obsess over your own pace and how frustrated you feel and what you think you should be running when you’re with someone else, especially someone you don’t know very well. Running with others takes the focus off of yourself, and sometimes that’s exactly what we need to turn running back into simply running and not a mental mind trip.
*Leave the Garmin at home.
Or pull your sleeves/gloves over it so you can’t see it. Especially if you’re running for total time, a regular watch will work fine.
*Do a different workout.
If all else fails, hop on a spin bike at the gym and pedal hard for those 30 minutes. Or get on the stairmill and see how long it takes to do 3 miles on that. Do intervals for 30 minutes on the elliptical. Sometimes taking a break from running can make it easier to come back to.
