Most people of average physical condition when walking purposefully can walk at around a 20 minutes per mile pace . . . 3 miles per hour. Maybe a little slower when going uphill and a tad faster going down. Sounds easy but to keep that up for 4-6 hours it's not a cupcake walk.
I've been "training" now since March 15th . . . about 7 1/2 weeks! I started out running at a pace of about 15:30 per miles. Running some and walking some but trying hard. After running several minutes I'm running out of wind and just need to walk to recuperate.
Since I started back I have improved! As the weather warms I'm trying to balance between the cool times of the day and the hottest time . . . and that makes a HUGE difference! Those hot temps just plain kick my ass!! But I'm thinking I benefit from these runs as much as the cool, faster runs.
Guess I should have put the word "faster" in quotes!! I did a 3.1 mile run in cool temps at a 14:18 pace. Definitely an improvement but not as big of an increase as I would have hoped.
It's weird! A big part of me just plain doesn't care! I'm getting more healthy.
- I'm losing some weight which had become a primary reason I started back. Sill a long way to go to get to my target but I'm seeing progress!
- I seem to have more energy. I had become lethargic. Just couldn't muster the desire to do many of the things I really needed to do. I'm really glad this is improving!
- My resting heart rate had increased. Finally it's getting back into the 40s and I'm pretty sure it should get back to my "normal" high 30s and low 40s.
- I am able to run more in relation to my walking! That is also improving but I still can't run a mile before I need to walk!
But . . . as a runner I do look to speed and endurance improvements to measure my progress. And that is lagging what I had expected!
- I thought that by this time I could run a mile without walking.
- I had hoped I could average a 12:XX pace for 3 miles.
- I need to be adding in at least one long run a week . . . maybe more. But that just isn't happening yet.
- I'm finding I'm totally out of breath when my heart rate hits about 130. Hoping that will increase! But the end of my runs that 130 comes pretty fast!
But overall . . . I'm in a way better place! Really feeling good about running again and looking forward to I'm not sure what!!!
Starting over sucks. There was a time that I was running 30 to 50 miles a week. Right now, my long run is 3.5 miles. It takes me at least a mile to get my breathing down. I hate it. Good luck on your journey!
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