Aunt Mary was in town this weekend, to visit my mother, her sister. I haven’t seen her since I started running, but I took the first train out to the home of my youth this morning to go for a brisk run with Aunt Mary. I got out to them just before 8:30, sat for a few minutes, chatting, and drinking water. Then, everybody went to get changed, Ma put Jack, her enormous dog, on a leash, and out we went.
Mom doesn’t run. Bad… feet. Toe surgery, heel spurs, all that nonsense. But, she likes to walk, and, of course, so does Jack. Aunt Mary and I walked with them for about two blocks, letting our legs stretch a bit, and then we said “bye now” and set off at a trot.
Now, when I run on my own, I run pretty quickly, and after the 4 minutes, I’m ready for the minute of walking. We didn’t have my iPod tracklist today, and I don’t think either of us wore a watch. My plan, basically, was to follow AM’s lead and pace, and then let her know what adjustments I needed. I don’t know what kind of pace she normally runs, if today was a gentle pace for her, or a standard one or what, but it was definitely slower than my usual pace, and I was able to keep up pretty nicely with her. Our path had a few hills, but was pleasant enough to look at, and I managed to keep pace without complaint for the first three miles. At that point, my shoe came untied, and I allowed the moment’s pause to extend to a walk for a minute or so, to refresh my lungs and legs. After that, it was a short run back to the house. In the end, we went 3.7 miles, though I’m not sure of the time. I’d estimate about 30-40 minutes.
It was really pleasant running with her, and I really enjoyed the easier pace. I think at least once per week (maybe every Sunday?) I’ll try for a similar sort of run, but for a longer period of time. Nice and slow pace, for no fewer than 45 minutes. Increase that endurance.
From what I’ve read, the run/walk intervals I’ve been doing are building up speed and strength in my legs and lungs and heart, but they’re not particularly building endurance. Which means that, even as I get better and better, if I don’t incorporate runs of longer duration, I’ll hit a wall at 30 minutes, and really struggle to continue running after that. Given that I’m training for a 10 mile race, 30 minutes just, flat out, won’t cut it. Now, my goal is 75 minutes, so, eventually, I’m going to need to start doing long runs in the 60-90 minute range. At a 10 mile minute pace, it’d take 1 hour 40 minutes to get all the way down. Hopefully, my pace will improve over the next year, but long runs will be necessary to get me to the finish line.
I’m discontinuing the run counter in the sidebar. Partially because it’s kind’ve a nuisance to update, and partly because I’m not sure it’s of any value to me, the runner, nor any interest to you, the reader.
