Examining My Moving Time vs. Elapsed Time on Garmin

9 years ago • 3 Comments • 13.1 Training, My Running

Comparing elapsed vs. moving time for two long runs:The goal of my last two long runs for half marathon training was 7 miles each at 10 minute pace. The two runs went very differently. The first one I ran alone, prioritizing the 10 minute pace goal but taking a lot of breaks. The second I ran with a friend and didn’t want to burden him with a lot of breaks, so even though I had to run slower to make it happen, I ran continuously. The time elapsed vs. moving time on my Garmin helped me examine the huge difference between these two runs that ostensibly had the same goal.

Run One: I ran by myself. I was getting over a cold, so I took it *real* easy on myself when I felt like stopping. I didn’t want to walk, and I didn’t really want to slow down, so I did the entire 7 miles at 10 minute pace and modified it by stopping my watch whenever I felt like it to rest on the side of the road.

It was kind of brutal. I felt like it took forever to run the 7 miles… because it did. When I got home and looked at my Garmin connect, I discovered that I had taken THIRTY MINUTES in breaks. Garmin keeps track of the elapsed time of a run, so even when you stop the watch, it knows how long it has been since you commenced the workout. All those little breaks I took added up… and Garmin kept track. By subtracting my “moving time” from my “elapsed time” I was able to see that I added a full half hour onto my run. Time spent just standing on the side of the road thinking about how I should really start running again.

runwithoutted

Sort of miserable.

Why I ran the next long run with company: I knew I had to do it again the next week, and I knew I had trouble pushing myself to keep the pace and eliminate breaks, so I recruited company for the run. Ted is a more experienced and faster runner, but was willing to keep me company. Knowing he was already slowing down a lot for me really kept me running through the fatigue.

Run 2: We ran 11 minute miles instead of 10 minute miles, but we did 7 miles without stopping. I was a little horrified that I’d told him my goal was to run 10 minute miles and we ended up running 11 minute miles. I was setting the pace of the run and just could. not. seem. to. go. faster.

When I first saw the splits on Garmin Connect after I got home, I was thinking why didn’t I run with Ted last week when I managed to run the 10 minute pace?

But the elapsed time tells a different story. During my run without Ted, I took 30 minutes of breaks. With Ted, we took less than 4 minutes off for navigation purposes. If you average out the pace to include breaks, that would mean my first long run averaged just over 14 minute miles. When you put it that way, I ran way faster with Ted.

runwithted

I’d rather think of my first run as a whole bunch of 10 minute repeats, but the point is, the 7 miles at 11 minute pace without stopping probably served me better in terms of half marathon preparation.

I need to learn to push through the “want to stop” feeling, and keep going… because I obviously can. I think modifying the pace might be a better alteration to a long run than taking an unlimited number of breaks. I definitely don’t want to be constantly fighting the urge to take breaks when I’m running the race.

I wrote a post a few summers ago about eliminating walking breaks from your run that was very popular. Maybe I should give it a re-read 😉

In the meantime, having Ted there to motivate me to eliminate walking breaks helped me really see the stark difference between these two runs. One where I prioritized meeting my pace goal, one where I prioritized eliminating breaks.

A walk/run strategy can work really well for some people. A “take unlimited breaks whenever you feel like it” strategy prolongs runs to the point of misery. Big difference! I know I was recovering from a cold on Monday, and I respect the effort I put in to meet that target pace. I do have 7 miles at that pace in my legs that I didn’t before. But if the point of the long run is to teach yourself to keep going, I’m not sure I really did that with my first run. There’s a time for running so hard you need breaks. It’s called intervals.

Does the difference between your elapsed time and moving time tell you anything helpful about your runs?

Half Marathon Training Update

9 years ago • 4 Comments • My Running

New Shoes: First and most exciting, I have two new pairs of shoes! A pair of Altras (zero drop, wide toe box, cushioned but barefoot-esque because of the zero drop) and a pair of Brooks Pure Flows. I love new running shoes. I was feeling a little more soreness in my other ones, and while it might have been the uptick in my mileage, I realized I have had them for over a year and run two half marathons in them so maybe it’s time to get a new pair.

Missed runs: I missed some scheduled runs this week thanks to a chest cold. I’m proud of myself for not running while sick, but more proud of Greg for being so darn nice to me as my mood continued to deteriorate thanks to the lack of running endorphins and the frustration from missing training. It worked though – I recovered from the cold in under a week, and am back to running!

What next: I did two of the quality workouts I’d missed, a 3 mile run at 9:30 pace and a 7 mile run at 10:00 pace, and then e-mailed Jake to see how I should proceed based on what I missed and how the runs went. I had to take breaks because of some lingering congestion every half mile or so, which is frustrating and a bit demoralizing, but my legs have 10 miles under them at the prescribed paces, so there’s that.

I might not make this 9:30 half marathon goal: I’m feeling nervous about my half marathon goal for November. 9:30s are fast. It was hard running 10s for 7 miles today. I know I’ve been sick. I know I have over two months left. I also know that I’m supposed to be able to run almost twice as far, 30 seconds faster, with no breaks, and that seems insanely unlikely.

But it doesn’t matter. Say I won’t improve enough in time. That doesn’t really matter. The next logical steps are the same, whether it will take me 10 weeks to reach the goal or 20 weeks to reach the goal. I’m still going to try my hardest to progress as quickly as I can with that goal in mind. I have Jake re-evaluating my training schedule every week based on the previous week, so I’m always doing the next logical workout. I don’t have to panic about whether the goal is unrealistic so I should change all my target paces for each run – that’s Jake’s job, and he’s got a lot of experience doing it.

I’m going to keep working hard to become stronger, and I’ll get there. Hopefully I’ll get there by November for the Chilly Half Marathon, but if I don’t, I won’t be less interested in being that fast in the months that follow.

Just… no more colds, please?!

I did get spotted by a friend on my run today, which always makes me feel cozy like it’s a small world in a good way 🙂

How’s your training going? Are you working towards a specific race or goal, or just enjoying your time on the run?

What the H#$* am I doing?

9 years ago • 4 Comments • My Running

Last night I was pulling the foam roller out from under the bed thinking about what a bad @$$ I am because I’m running hard enough to need to foam roll (need… as in, it actually changes how I feel afterwards). This thought about how awesome I am was interrupted by another thought: What the H#$* am I doing?!?!!

I’m 31, I am busy raising two small kids, I didn’t start running until age 28, and I am finishing races in the 66th percentile. I’m working pretty hard for someone so far from the front.

Why am I taking this so SERIOUSLY?! I’m proud that I now keep a foam roller under my bed? Really? What am I DOING?! I’m running my butt off to go from the 66th percentile to a goal time that would still be average at best! I EVEN HIRED A RUNNING COACH!

I mean, it’s funny, right? I’m working very, very hard, and very very seriously at being very, very mediocre at something.

Luckily, that’s not the point.

It’s fun to take something not-serious very seriously. (Professional sports are a great example. Go Sox!)

I love taking my progress seriously, feeling pride when I check things off my training list, feeling ecstatic when I have a run goes better than planned.

I love laughing at myself when I skip the second glass of wine because I’m “training”. I love getting up early in the summer to go for a hard run because it’s “important”. It’s fun. It adds meaning to workouts that I might otherwise be inclined to skip, but feel better for having done them.

So, yeah. There’s a foam roller under my bed. I’m a half marathon runner. I have a race coming up. It’s important. I’m training.

It’s FUN.

Track Repeats with the Kids

9 years ago • 2 Comments • My Running

Kids at the track: Greg and I have been toying with the idea of bringing the kids to the track with us so we could run repeats without getting a babysitter. This weekend we decided to do a test run; we both went to the track and brought the boys, but only I planned to run. That way we could test out how happy and self-entertained they are at the track.

Our goal is to eventually come as a family and both run repeats. We would leave them in the middle, alternating our hard laps and recovery laps so someone was always more responsible for supervising. It’d improve our weekend because we could both run at the same time, the kids would get a change of scenery and be outdoors, and we wouldn’t have to hire a babysitter for the morning when we really only need one for an hour.

Verdict: They LOVED being at the track. They enjoyed climbing in and around the drill tires on the field and kicking the ball around. Greg brought his camera and used it to encourage them to play a little without him while he took some photos – seeing how well they’d do on their own. They had the most fun with Dad (well, duh) but liked running around and playing on their own, too.

I’m sure I ran a little faster with an audience, and I loved having Will there to give me a high five at the end. Maybe next weekend Greg and I will bring them and both be running 🙂

Confession – Andrew did get a little tired. (TIRE-d. Get it? Tired??! TIRE?! AHHHH!!!! It’s too good.)

Weekend Fun & A Running Update

9 years ago • 0 Comment • 13.1 Training, My Running

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I did some running, we had friends over for dinner, went to the beach, and even made it out to lunch just the two of us. (An event worthy of the above pictured sangria.)

Running update: It’s about 13 weeks until the Chilly Half Marathon on November 8th. I’m really hoping to drop the pace for this one (9:30 goal, down from 10:01 result last year).

I really want to use my limited training time efficiently, so I hired a running coach to help. He’s an ultra-marathoner and triathlete who provides specific half marathon and marathon coaching packages, and I’d enjoyed his spin class.

My first session with him was last week. We talked for a few minutes, I caught him up to date about what I’d done over the summer (not as much as I’d hoped, but hey, lots of paddle boarding) and then we did 50 minutes of circuit training and he gave me a running plan for the upcoming week.

What’s circuit training? I did small sets of exercises (45 seconds of high knees, 250 meters of rowing, 45 second plank, etc.) and would cycle through a group of 3 exercises 3 times total, then move on to another set of exercises.

Result: I worked hard and felt fantastic… until the next day. I was in so much pain for two days that I couldn’t run. The third day, I got a shard of glass stuck in my foot and didn’t run. I finally ran on Saturday (already 10 miles behind for the week). I had, by then, gotten the glass out of my foot… but my muscles still weren’t back to normal. I averaged 12 minute miles for my 6 mile run (so glad I finally put the watch back on so we could track my summer “progress”) and took today off instead of doing my prescribed 3 mile recovery run.

pace — The day after circuit training I ran one of the most painful miles of my life before fear of injury and straight up pain sent me walking home.

Whoops. I probably should have been more clear that while I had been enthusiastically working on my push ups in Maine, I hadn’t done the full sets of 50s twice a week as prescribed. That may have gotten lost in our discussion, along with the fact that I’ve never done any sort of regular strength training. Coaches aren’t mind readers. I said “I did a lot of paddle boarding and not enough running.” That’s not the same as “And I did the fun part of the 50s and only half as often as you advised.” And, honestly, except for the last sets of high knees and jumping jacks, I didn’t have much indication at the time that I was working too hard. Perhaps a little over-exerting is a necessary part of figuring out where you’re at.

Going forward: Now I have to go in on Tuesday and tell Jake that I missed four out of 5 runs this week, and that we’re not at ground zero for this training plan, we’re at below zero. I’m not a fan of admitting I didn’t do what I was supposed to do because I’m not fit enough to make it through 50 minutes of circuit training and still run the next day.

But there’s still time. This moves me one step closer to figuring out what level of strength training is just enough to get benefits and not so much it jeopardizes my running. And it gives me added incentive to do better in pre-season training in the future. It’s not just about the half marathon training, it’s about being ready to start! (There’s a reason many beginner plans are 16 weeks, whereas more intermediate plans might be 12. You need to ramp up!)

On the plus side, I had a great weekend, I did make it out for a relaxing 6 mile run, and I’ve got 13 weeks. I know first hand how much can change in 13 weeks.

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