Conversational Pace - Achieved

If you look back on my posts, you'll find that one of my blogs is titled "Conversational Pace? A Myth to Me." On that particular day, I spoke on the phone with a friend while running and felt like I was dying. However, things have turned around for me.

Shockingly, if you actually run the correct pace, you can talk while running.

Yesterday, my brother and I headed out for another long run together. Despite my usual dislike for running with people, I have thoroughly enjoyed this new tradition. Not only is it lovely because I get to hang out with my brother, but it also changes up almost every aspect of how I typically run. Coach Bennett always says if running is boring then you're doing it wrong. You need to be changing up the types of the runs, the location, the routes, the people, and the music or podcasts that you listen to. I typically stick to the same routine, but running with my brother changes it all.

Instead of starting my morning on my time, I'm coordinating with someone on timing and location. Instead of listening to my music and Coach Bennett, I have my volume down almost to zero and am chatting. Instead of running how I typically would, at a specific pace and in a specific direction, I'm following my brothers lead.

Yesterday, our run was as perfect as a run can really get. We agreed we'd get out around 10am, a little earlier than last week to manage the heat better. His run was 2hr 15 minutes and mine was 10 miles. Doing some quick math, we knew that he'd be running a little further than me. When I gave him a call, he was already running toward me, getting some of the time under his belt so that when I joined, I'd be able to stick with my 10-mile plan. This route started off a lot smoother than last weeks. We started on the East Side Highway and instead of having to struggle through the streetlights, we followed the East Side down toward the Statute of Liberty and over to the West Side Highway. We then proceeded with almost the exact route as last week, where we ran up the Highway for 4-5 miles then cut across to the bottom of Central Park until eventually finding Park Ave.

This run was different mostly because my brother wanted to lock in on "Zone 2" running. This is essentially where you're trying to keep your heartrate in the 2nd lowest zone. For reference, I (unintentionally) run all my runs in the 4th zone (out of 5 zones, with 5 being max heart rate). Zone 2 running has been a priority for my brother, but not for me. I just run at a pace that feels good, even if according to my heart rate I'm overstraining myself. However, Zone 2 running is supposed to be more beneficial. I now can see the benefits. We started off around a 11:30-12-minute pace, which is honestly hard to do when it's not a normal pace for you. You have to really force yourself to stay slower than you want or could go. Last run, we had probably 3 miles in the middle where we didn't speak because we were both hitting a wall. This time, we managed to continue the conversation for the full 10 miles because we were actually running at conversational pace!

I didn't have any gels with me this week, which made me a little nervous at first- I'm a creature of habit and a tad superstitious. If I have a bad run outside and a good one on a treadmill, now I only want to run treadmills and think I can't run outside. If I run with water one time and not the next, I'm concerned that I won't be able to make it, even if it is a shorter or easier run. Given that I brought a gel last week which seemed to have boosted my energy around the 7mi mark, I was worried that without it I wouldn't be able to get out of the middle-of-the-run funk. However, of course, one gel wasn't the reason that I could finish the run last week and the lack of a gel wasn't going to be the reason I couldn't finish this week.

During this run, I never hit a wall. Our pacing may have changed over the course of the run, but we consistently maintained our ability to breathe and speak well. I really could see the benefits of this pacing strategy when it came to the end of our run. My brother only had a minute left, and given our slower pace, I still had 1.5 miles to go. So, we agreed he would just finish his run and walk down Park Ave, and I would take some detours left and right (to avoid stoplights and not get too far from him) and meet back up with him when I was done. I didn't want to make him wait too long so I wanted to run a little faster. The best part is, I could. I had felt so good the entire run that it was relatively easy for me to pick up the pace (got it down to a 9:40) for the last mile. To me, that's a sign that we achieved what we were supposed to. I've said multiple times that when I finish a run, I don't usually have a lot left in me. There are the occasional exceptions where I add on a mile because I want to, but most of the time, I'm ready for the run to be done but can't convince my legs to move any faster to get it done quicker. So, being able to just casually speed up at 8.5 miles and still feel good felt like a big success.

Once I was done, I met up with my brother, we got our Powerade's, ate the same Poke bowl as last week, and laid around outside. When I decided to go back home, I even opted for the 1.5mi walk instead of the train.

Another successful long run!

Run #24: Saturday, August 9th: 10-Mile Long Run - 11:03 Pace