Yep, positive. I'm almost certain that positive splits isn't an actual term because no runner in their right mind wants to run positive splits...yet here I am.
Let's back up a bit, shall we? At the beginning of the week we had unseasonably warm and lovely weather. It was in the 60s, which is rare for December in Missouri. Naturally this meant we were in for horrible weather. I looked at the forecast and sure enough, we were due for frigid temps and a snow storm by Friday. Friday was supposed to be my scheduled long run of 7 miles, so I did the only logical thing and ran it Monday instead when it was 60 degrees!
It was perfect weather and I ran my normal 4 mile route, ran by the house for a GU and a drink of water and then ran 1.5 and back to finish up. It was a great run for the most part. I hadn't run 7 miles since last spring before my injury. When I got to 5, I was feeling pretty good, I ONLY have 2 miles left...gah...a long long 2 miles. I think I thought I might trip and fall on my face the last mile. I was sore and my legs felt like lead.
I finished though and I get home and the Nike app was telling me I ran some sort of bizarre splits. I cannot for the life of me find what it was showing me on Monday, it just give me the splits below, which shows how all over the place I was. The original thing it showed me was saying at one point I was running 7:47 at one point and 17:00 at another??? What??? Maybe it was just a Nike app/GPS issue, I have a hard time believing I was running that fast OR that slow at any point.
Regardless, you can see how inconsistent my miles are. Fast, slow, fast, slow, fast, slow, slower...
Is this normal?? Gah!!! To make matters even more confusing, the Nike app says I'm a bit faster than my Garmin. I can't even figure out what my beginning pace should be. I try to just run comfortably, but obviously I'm too eager when I start. What can I say? I love to run, I get excited that first mile. These reoccurring positive splits is going to be a problem the more my miles go up, however, so I don't feel like I can ignore it anymore. The longer my miles go, the more I wear down at the speed I'm comfortable at. I did try on the treadmill today and still struggled with wanting to slow down around mile 3 when I was doing 5. Any suggestions?
Aaaaand, speaking of my treadmill run. I was pretty sore and very busy the rest of the week after my long run, so I didn't do my 30 minutes on Wednesday. My brain decided that since I skipped a run, I should do more than 4 on the treadmill, even though that is what was scheduled. So I did 5. The treadmill was necessary since the storm they predicted did arrive and it was FREEZING out and snowing. I'm all for running in the snow, but not really 10 degrees. It was nice to watch the snow coming down, made the miles fly by, even on the treadmill.
I love snow, as long as I don't have to leave the house!...which I always do. LOL
Sooooo, what do I do? Slow it down, like 11:00 for the first couple miles? This is easier said than done for me, I have come to realize that I really do compete with myself to be just a little better each time and better=faster in my brain somehow. It also doesn't really FEEL right when I go slower. It feels unnatural. When I run with Dallas, we run around 11:06 because that is comfortable to him, and I feel like I'm shuffling along, just dragging. It's not enjoyable to constantly be self-talking myself to slow down all the time. I just want to run how it feels comfy.
I have my first 8 mile run since my injury next week and want to make sure I do it well. The last 8 mile I ran was the only 8 miles I ran and then I was out injured for 2 months! I don't want to push and then injure myself again and I want to be able to up my mileage and do negative splits, not positive!
So, help me out! How did you learn to run negative splits? How do you gauge how slow you have to go to be able to go the distance at a balanced pace?
You actually wrote down your answer in this post... run how you feel comfortable. Maybe try and slow down purposefully on your first mile and you'll have an idea how you feel during that particular run and then just go to where you feel good. Not necessarily pushing your pace for the long run. Treadmills are AWESOME to helping to get your body 'used to' running at a comfortable pace. When you do treadmill runs at the same pace over and over, your body naturally feels that pace during a training run (at least that is how it works for me lol). I hope this helps you out!!
ReplyDeleteThe treadmill does seem to help! Thanks Lauren. I think I'm just starting to stress about the race, it feels like it's coming fast! I need to keep reminding myself that it's about the distance, not the time!
DeleteI think I always feel as if I start off slower to help my body warm up, then I pick up speed if I'm at a comfortable spot to do so. Finding that balance isn't easy - it's taken me years...but like Lauren said, you should run how your body feels comfortable and stick with that. You're doing great! I love your treadmill view, too!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen!
DeleteI agree with starting a little slower. I'm also in the process of finding a comfortable yet sustainable pace. In my last 10K I was all over the place, pace wise. I've noticed that the more my pace fluctuates, the more tired I get overall. So for the past week or so I've moved my training to the treadmill and have been really focusing on sustaining pace, not necessarily getting to a particular pace. This means that if I'm feeling good and I can sustain a 12 min pace, that's what I do. If I'm feeling more tired I run a 13/13:30 pace the entire time. I fluctuate so much that I never give my body time to adjust to a comfortable pace, therefore I get tired quicker. My winter training goal is to sustain.
ReplyDeletePositive splits aren't all bad, especially while you're training. Progress trumps perfect. Good luck in finding your sweet spot! And I love the snow pictures! Here in MN we're already down into the negatives...it's going to be a loooooooong winter! ;)
I ran 3 on the TM today and worked on my pace! I think winter seems like a perfect time to do this since I will be running more on the TM than outside. Thanks Jewell!
DeleteI tend to start too fast as well, especially during a race because it is so exciting. Hopefully as long as we recognize it when that mile 1 split pops up, we'll have time to adjust and reassess. With a longer race, we should have time to correct for those early mistakes (I'm hoping!). - Jess
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I definitely have to slow myself down at races! It's much worse for those! LOL
DeleteYour splits aren't that far apart, you were pretty consistent and just slowed down some during that last mile which is completely expected. I'm not a big fan of the Nike watch or app, I think the Garmin is a lot more accurate. You're doing great! I tend to try to run my first mile the slowest to warm up and then speed up as I go along when I'm doing a long run, but that's what feels comfortable for me. Positive splits are fine as long as they don't happen just because you went out too fast at the start and you crash at the finish!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much April! I'm noticing quite a few discrepancies with my Garmin and Nike lately and have no idea which is right?!?! My Garmin is pretty old, so I'm worried that it's the incorrect one, but I'm unsure. It's been off on some of my races as well when Nike shows it's the correct distance, the Garmin says it's not as far???
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