So where's this slow and steady race?

I am the slowest runner, ever.

period.

ever.

exclamation point!

As I embark on this marathon journey I realize I'm going to be doing the majority of my long runs on my own. Which is fine, I'm perfectly good company for the first nine miles... then I'll talk to just about anyone who passes me. Don't be surprised when you start getting calls from the road! I'm just not used to being solely responsible for my pace.

My first official long run after the Seafair Half Marathon was an 11.2 mile run... over queen anne hill, around lake union, and back over queen anne hill. It took me 2:25! Granted, I did run the queen anne hill twice, and I wasn't really on fresh legs, but still! I averaged 13 minute-miles! Yeesh, some people walk that fast!

Here's the loop:


I highly recommend it! It was a beautiful run. The best part was getting to the other side of the lake and seeing buildings I had just ran by look so small in the distance. I mean, this was a fantastic long run! The problem was my heart rate only raised above 165 when I was running up hill. I held back and fell into a nice easy pace that I could have kept up all day.

But who wants to run all day?

My only motivation for getting faster is that I just don't want to be running for 6+ hours to finish the 26.2! I'm not talking about running a sub 4-hour marathon... I'm thinking between 5:15 and 5:45. (And hey, I would be ecstatic to beat Katie Holmes' time. Hey, it looks like we might have the same pants!)

Last weekend I did a 10-mile long run, and it took me 1:56. Not too shabby... And yesterday I ran 6 miles in 1:06. I'm totally happy with that, too!

What I need to learn is how hard to push myself. I dream of being able to just bust out 10-minute miles with no effort necessary. What I'm now realizing is that if I want to run 10-minute miles, I need to keep running miles at that pace and eventually it will get easier. Or at least striving for that pace. My 6-mile run was definitely not easy. I really had to push the last two miles to keep up the pace.

I think I've found the difference between jogging and running. When I'm jogging, I can run for days at a super slow pace. When I'm running, I'm pushing and trying to gage how hard to push so I have enough endurance to las the whole run.

Tomorrow morning I'm doing some speed work again. I did some track workouts with Holly on Monday and it was awesome! I wish the track by me wasn't so scary :)

I also think it might be time to step up the gear... I'm really thinking about getting a heart rate monitor that tracks mileage and pace... A big investment, but it will really help me on my long runs.

I want to go fast!!! Now I need to work for it!