Our building has an area down by the trash and recycling room where you can put magazines that you’re done reading. This is a BRILLIANT idea, and I now get to read InStyle and Real Simple on a regular basis without paying for them. (Don’t worry, I give, too- my discarded People magazines are always snapped up quickly.)
Last week sometime, I noticed a new-looking copy of Runner’s World sitting on the pile. It appears, after a year of running more than one mile in a row at least 2-3 times a week, that I am sort of a runner now (no one is more surprised than me), so I picked it up.
Dude. DUDE. Runners speak like a whole different language. Reading 2 pages of that magazine was enough to make me freak out, conclude that I’m not really a runner after all, and hide the magazine under the bed.
But I went back to it a few days later and read an article describing some of the ways you can mix up your running workout. I’m definitely guilty of getting into a rut with my standard 3.5-4 miles runs at moderate pace, so I was interested, but like I said, this magazine doesn’t really speak my language. Tempo runs? Mile repeats? Say what?
(Also, the article recommended “warming up at a brisk jog for 35-40 minutes before starting your workout” which: HAAAAAAAAA.)
So I didn’t think much of it.
Then yesterday, as I was heading out on my run, I had to pick up the pace to catch a green light. For whatever reason (honestly? It was seeing Kristen’s before and after pictures earlier in the day. Holy GOD) I decided that I would run the first half of my usual loop at the fastest pace I could. I wanted to see how fast I could do it, and thought I’d take a nice easy jog home after.
So I ran absolutely, lung-crushingly, balls-out, and completed the first half of my loop in 13 minutes. At which point I doubled over and gasped for air for about a minute, then took another two minutes to walk and catch my breath before I started jogging gently back to our house, where I arrived…15 minutes later.
Did you catch that? The difference between running 1.8 miles at a pace that made me truly worry that I might vomit and a pace that felt like a gentle jaunt I could maintain for miles and miles was a lousy TWO MINUTES? Would someone PLEASE remind me of this the next time I go out too fast at the start of a run and nearly kill myself, hobbling miserably by the end? The difference of a few seconds, which I certainly lose later in the run when I’m praying for death, is NOT WORTH IT.
On the plus side, I ran a 7:16 mile pace for that first part- I really think that 7 minute mile might be doable. Maybe that will be my goal for the mind-numbing treadmill runs during the snowy season….
Runners come in all shapes and sizes. We all define ourselves differently. So, I’m gonna argue with you until we’re blue in the face that you’re not a runner … because you are.
You are definitely a runner in my book. I may hop on the treadmill or go out for a run several days a week, but my pace is significantly slower than yours. A 10 minute mile (and one of them) is an accomplishment for me these days. I ran a 10-mile race at 12 minute pace and thought my legs were going to fall off. Although, I know the reason my pace is so slow it’s because I don’t push myself nearly hard enough to get faster. I’m still working on that. I don’t know what I’m afraid of… being tired?
Okay – that you can figure out what MM:SS mile you run makes you a runner in my book.
Yeah, Runners Speak. Scares the hell out of me. I just shirk away and hide.
Good for you!
7 minute mile? SEVEN MINUTE MILE??!? *faints* holy crap, lady. That’s… Fast.
OK. The idea of a 7-minute mile makes me want to puke. You disgust me. (In a good way, you know, xoxo etc.)
I was super intimidated when I started reading RW, because I didn’t understand the lingo, and thought it was only for marathoners. Now I realize it has something in it for everyone. It just takes awhile to get used to
Sometimes its fun to see how fast you can run! Until you puke, that is
I bet you could really speed up, if you want to. But you don’t need to 