Since I reduced my running to once a week, I can't afford to skip a run anymore these days! Not running early in the mornings during weekdays also means I get to sleep in a little extra... so 4 am mornings are slowly starting to look like a thing of the past! Saturday morning however, I had to relive old habits. Though I went to bed at 10:30, I remained awake till about 12:30 meaning which meant my Saturday LSD (long slow distance) was one of those oft-repeated low-on-sleep run.
It was meant to be a fast-paced 10k. I was targeting a pace of 6'30" to 7'00 and I managed to maintain that till about the 7k mark. Then the sun made its climb - it was hot, I was tired and I just about managed to finish the targeted 10k. Took me 1:12 but my average pace was still higher than last week so I'm not complaining.
I also realize that for many people a pace of 6'30" is a far cry from "fast". When I use terms like fast and moderate it is relative - to me. In my training terms anything faster than a pace of 5'30", I class as insane. I could probably sustain this pace for a distance of not more than one kilometer maaaaybe two. 5'30" to 6'00" is crazy fast for me. A pace between 6'00" and 6'30" is what I consider very fast and this is what I would maintain for tempo runs. 6'30" to 7'00" is a fast pace for me. Runs at this pace falls in the category of challenging but doable. This would be my comfortable 5k pace. 7'00" to 7'30" is my moderate pace and also my comfortable 10k pace. 7'30" to 8'00 is my easy pace. I have run all three of my half-marathons at this pace. I would consider a 8'00" - 8'30" pace as slow and anything slower as crawling. (Again, for me)
My average pace currently is 6'55". Which is borderline fast & moderate. In order to pick up my pace I will have to incorporate more tempo runs and speed training. As soon as it cools off a bit weather-wise this will be the POA.
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