I'm chronicling my efforts to get back into running after a long absence. To start, I'm participating in the Men’s 4-Miler Training Program offered by the Charlottesville Track Club.
The goal today was to run 2-1/2 miles on the road. The training sessions take place at Charlottesville High School, and as one of the trainers remarked, no matter which direction you go, it's uphill. My weekly runs are also pretty hilly, but I've been struggling with the Saturday runs. (or rather, run/walks - we're still doing a minute of walking for two minutes of running)
The problem is breathing. According to the coaches, fighting for breath means I'm running too fast. I need to slow down the pace to where I can breathe and talk comfortably while running. I wondered if another problem was my body was working too hard. I normally don't eat before I run, but on Saturday I do. This time I skipped breakfast (opting for coffee and orange juice), to see if that made a difference.
It did. I still came in last -- by a wide margin -- but I was able to get the breathing under control. I did feel really fatigued when I finished, though. So my stamina isn't quite where it should be. Still, as someone pointed out, no matter how slow you are, you're still lapping the people on the couch!
I'll keep that in mind this week.
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