Remember the Feeling You Get

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Running Too Fast Too Early

As a little girl I have always loved the idea of running in the wind with my hair blowing behind me. The dream still exists today. Only one thing was stopping me, my tendency to run too fast too early. That was what killed my ability to fall into running as a child. As time went, I continued to love the idea but not the pain associated with it. I’ve tried to start running thousands of times over the years but just now am able to run faster and further than ever. How did that happen?

Three months ago I decided I would get into running but told myself to pace my intervals. Starting with a walking pace and speeding up as time went by. This meant I would have to walk at 3.5 and do my speed at 4 as running for .1 of a mile and walk at .1 in intervals. Because I had taken the slow way into running this time, I was able to gradually increase my running speed. I might not be at my “ideal” speed yet but this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship with running.

Take it from me, you don’t want to start running too fast too early. It’s not something you will easily recover from and can ruin your desire to run. Of course if you focus on what you should be doing rather than what you want to be doing, you will find that it’s much easier to build up to an “acceptable” speed. Set your goals and sights on a lower speed than your long term goals. What you should be doing is figuring out your average weekly milage and your comfortable pace. (This means you aren’t wheezing while trying to run)

I’m going to end this with a quote

It’s Very Hard…..

It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit. by: Dr. George Sheehan

In running, it …

In running, it doesn’t matter how fast or slow you are relative to anyone else. You set your own pace and you measure your own progress. You can’t lose this race because you’re not running against anyone else. You’re only running against yourself, and as long as you are running, you are winning.

Amby Burfoot, 1968 winner of the Boston Marathon