Sunday, February 07, 2010

8 miles - getting faster

Yesterday I ran 8 miles in around 77 minutes, at`around 9:52 pace.
This is slower than I'd like to go but I am faster than before.

Some past 8 miler training times are below:
August 2005: 105 minutes
August 2010: 86 minutes
Sept 2010: 90 minutes (in half marathon)
Feb 2010: 77 minutes

So it is good to see that I am getting faster.

Mile Aug-09 Feb-10
1 9:46 9:44
2 9:51 9:31
3 10:30 9:23
4 11:11 9:38
5 10:22 10:23
6 11:37 9:51
7 11:07 10:04
8 10:41 10:00

I can run 8 minute mile pace when I'm only running for say 4 miles.
I find myself holding back my pace and taking it easy on long run days.
I'd like to push the pace to more like 9:15 next week when we run 9 miles.

My goal isn't just to finish another half marathon but to set a strong PR at that distance which means to run fast as well as long.

A long distance gets in your head and you think if I go out to fast I'll not have enough left at the end. This can be wise but sometimes I think it can also make me complacent. I will try to start out with the 9 min/mile pace group and stick with them for 9 miles.

1 comment:

Jenny said...

That is great Sarah! You are really getting faster all the time. I have been getting back into shape after being so sedentary during residency, and am finally now back to a 10 minute mile pace (for 3-4 miles). Next I'm going to work on increasing my speed, so seeing your progress is very motivating to me!