My entire return to running has progressed much faster than I expected. I attribute that to a couple of things:
1) My years of riding my stationary bike were very good for my cardio, so I didn't really have much work to do there.
2) I was very careful in building up the stress on my legs. I added miles slowly each week and never tried to run too fast for fear of injury.
I decided a couple of months ago that it was about time to race. I was running consistently 25 miles a week at that point. Instead of continuing to add miles I started replacing some slow miles with some faster miles. I thought a 10K sounded like a good first race.
As race day approached though I realized I was actually quite capable of racing a half marathon instead of the 10K. I had several good 10-12 mile long runs under my belt. Plus, my training had given me some indication that I might already be able to reach my goal of 1:56:30 -- my time in my last race in 2016.
So I signed up for the Fayetteville Half.
Breathing
Breathing is important. I like breathing.
Seriously though, I do like to use my breathing rate while I am running as a guide to pacing myself. During all of those months of training, I wanted to run "slow" so I could avoid injury. But how slow is slow enough?
I use my breathing as a guide. I know from past experience that if I can take 4 steps while inhaling and then 4 steps while exhaling, I am running a nice relaxed easy pace. That is all you really need to stimulate most endurance benefits. You get the benefits of running and building mileage with minimal risk of injury.
The cool thing about using your breathing rate like this is that it is perfectly calibrated to each person. I am older now, and still heavier than I was a few years ago, and some days I am more tired than others. All that is fine. It just means I have to adjust my running speed accordingly. You might be a very fit 25 year old woman who can click off 7 minute miles and maintain an easy 4-4 breathing pattern. I'm going to be closer to 11 minutes a mile for that same easy breathing. We are both running easy, it is all relative.
Race Day
That 4-4 breathing pattern isn't the only way to run of course. On race day I planned to run faster than that. My plan was
- Use a 4-4 easy breathing pattern for the first mile to keep race adrenaline from sending me out too fast.
- Use a steady 3-3 breathing pattern for the bulk of the race, up to mile 10.
- Finish with a 2-2 breathing pattern as controlled as possible for those last 3+ miles.
I lined up at the start with that plan in mind. I was happy to have a bib on again.
I was pretty much able to follow my plan. Along the way I noticed a bunch of other people weren't following that same plan. They were breathing much heavier than me and eventually it showed. Most of those people breathing heavy in the early miles of the race fell way back towards the end.
Here at mile 13 I look less happy, but you will notice -- I am still breathing!
I finished in 1:53:56. I beat my goal by a couple of minutes. I get another try in New Orleans in a few months. I will need another goal. :)
