So…. no avoiding these now =) I have to post about them even though they were both very sad runs. I consider it a victory I even finished them!

Last Saturday featured a 7 mile run: a 1 mile easy warm up, 5 mile tempo, and a 1 mile easy cool down. It was hard, as most tempo runs are for me. I’d rather be doing speedwork than tempos. But tempos are a necessity so do them I must!

Split 1: 12:00
Split 2: 11:24
Split 3: 12:03
Split 4: 12:46
Split 5: 14:22
Split 6: 14:59
Split 7: 15:20

Total Time: 1:32:58
Average Pace: 13:19
Calories Burned: 777
Shoes: Asics Nimbus

Holy cow was that a bad run! LOL =) I can’t believe I was going so slowly the last 3 miles. So sad =/

Today, I had a full 13.1 miles. Target pace was 11:15. SO did not happen.

Split 1: 11:37
Split 2: 11:32
Split 3: 12:00
Split 4: 11:45
Split 5: 12:19
Split 6: 12:24
Split 7: 12:32
Split 8: 12:45
Split 9: 12:58
Split 10: 14:06
Split 11: 13:55
Split 12: 14:11
Split 13: 16:35
Split 14: 2:01

Total Time: 2:50:48
Average Pace: 12:59
Total Calories Burned: 1,550
Shoes: Asics Nimbus

Wowzers. Another bad run. That’s even slower than the 13.1 miles I did during my second training schedule (June-July).

I don’t really know what’s going on with my body, but I physically can’t keep the pace I was consistently hitting in my last training schedule (August-October). I was thinking about this as my abs and my butt were churning and burning during today’s run and I thought… perhaps it’s because most of my long runs in the last training schedule were done on completely flat routes (i.e. the Newport Beach boardwalk), whereas these runs are on rolling hills and soft inclines? Or maybe it’s because I haven’t been eating as much as I should. Or maybe it’s because I haven’t really been getting a lot of sleep. Or maybe it’s just my body telling me that it’s gonna take a while for it to get used to this mileage increase.

There are a lot of reasons that could be contributing to this running slump, but the one I’m most afraid of, and the one I’m hoping is NOT the case… is burn out. Raciel warned me about this, but I didn’t think it was possible. I’ve always felt so focused and motivated to reach my goals. But these days, I’m not very focused, and I feel less inclined to suck it up and push it during my runs. I don’t know how to fix this. Do I take a break? Do I just try to keep pushing on?

Much food for thought. One thing I am sure of is that I was completely way too optimistic about what I could accomplish during this training period. I originally wanted to just build my running base, but with my success at the Cancer Challenge, I got a little too happy cutting my pace. I’m bumping it back up to my 11:30 goal. This is something I can live with.

Anyway, enough musing for now. Week 4 begins tomorrow. A new week, new goals =) Hopefully, I’ll be able to meet them.