Moving closer to sea level was the best thing I’ve done to help me begin to enjoy running. After many luxurious months of training at 400 feet in Eugene, running at home in Bend was a slap in the face. Admittedly, the 3,200 feet elevation gain is not the only factor contributing to my sluggish pace.
Since finishing my half marathon, my body seems to have decided I no longer get to run fast. I ran the half marathon comfortably at a 9:30 pace, but since then, I’ve struggled to maintain a 10:00 pace. To some runners, 9:30 might sound slow, but to quote my mom, 9:30 is “pretty good for me.” When I started running, I could only run at a 10:40 pace for a few miles. When I saw my pace dip below 10:00 during half marathon training, I felt like the fastest girl in the world.
I regret to inform you I have since lost much of that progress. After one week off for a vacation to San Francisco in the beginning of December, a 9:30 pace now feels like a fantasy. This is why I hate running: when I was into lifting, I could take a few weeks off and see no change in strength, and after one week off running, I’m slower than I’ve ever been. For the sake of transparency, let’s break down my first two weeks of training.
You will notice, I am slow. But, strangely, I am proud of this. My number one goal for marathon training is running slow because it is the best way to gain endurance and get faster, and it’s also the biggest thing I neglected in half marathon training. During the workout, however, running slow makes me angry and overly hard on myself. This is a battle I will continue to fight until I reach acceptance or gain magical speedy powers.
Week one
Monday: recovery run in Eugene — four miles at a 10:57 pace.
This was the first easy run I think I’ve ever done. Fittingly, I titled the run, “ACTUALLY an easy run,” on the Nike Run Club app. I completed this run in Eugene right before I drove home for the holidays and it felt delicious. My legs felt amazing, my lungs barely registered that I was running and I felt as though I could have run forever.
Wednesday: recovery run in Bend— four miles at a 11:16 pace and one mile hill sprints.
And the fantasy is over. This was meant to be an easy run like Monday’s workout, but even at a 11:16 pace, four miles going steadily uphill at 3,600 feet is anything but easy. At this point, I officially let go of the idea of running “easy” until my return to sea level.
Friday: speed run in Bend— three miles at a 10:00 pace
This is embarrassing. My fastest three mile run before the half marathon was an 8:10 pace, so I don’t even know if you can call 10:00 a speed run. I’ve actually never felt more out of shape in my life. This was humiliating and humbling. I’m just going to blame it entirely on the altitude because boy oh boy this was not my finest work.
Saturday: long run in Bend— nine miles at a 10:44 pace
Honestly, this was lovely. Now that I’m a “marathon runner,” I find myself enjoying the long steady runs much more than my speed workouts. I ran these nine miles along the river trail in downtown Bend on a perfect bluebird day with mountain views and a dorky smile on my face the whole way (until I hit a monster hill at mile 8 and was definitely no longer happy).
Week two
Monday: recovery run in Bend— three miles at a 11:00 pace and one mile hill sprints
I have felt like a crazy person many times during my journey with fitness. Nothing makes you feel crazier than doing hill sprints on Christmas Day. Honestly though, I had a blast. My mom and I have gotten into a routine of running my easy runs together and sharing my airpods to sing and dance terribly as we run. I’m going to miss her so much when I go back to solo training in Eugene — I love you mom.
Wednesday: recovery run in Bend— five miles at a 10:45 pace.
This was one of those runs where I suspect everything is about to go wrong. My sister and grandma, attempting to recover from a nasty cold, had been hacking up mucus all week. On this run, I was sure the virus had gotten me. My lungs were burning, my throat was dry and I couldn’t keep my heart rate down. I am pleased to report I am disease free, and I just suck at running.
Friday: speed run in Bend— three miles at a 9:00 pace
This was slightly less humiliating than the previous week, but still far from my 24:30 three mile PR in November. I normally run in the morning and on Friday I had to squeeze my speed workout in at 5 p.m. after a family hike. I had a lovely prehab and ab session before the run and was sure my run would be speedy. I was wrong. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this run other than it sucked and put me in a bad mood. I really hope my return to sea level this week brings me speed.
Saturday: long run in Bend— nine miles at a 10:46 pace
I had been frustrated with my pace the past few training sessions, but this run really hammered in the hopelessness. My run went decently well, all things considered, but I couldn’t help feeling annoyed at how hard it felt at such a slow pace. I am a perfectionist and always hard on myself, so it’s not easy for me to be bad at something. It’s New Year’s Eve while I’m writing this, so I’m resolving to embrace sucking at things this year. I’m embracing being slow.
I’m excited to see how my pace changes in Eugene at low elevation, but I’m trying to avoid putting pressure on myself to go fast. The next few weeks I will be trying to get into the groove of juggling training with school and work. My mileage will be slowly increasing throughout January, but with all my scheduled runs being under 13 miles, it’s nothing I haven’t done before. For the most part, I will just be focused on gaining whatever endurance I’ve lost and enjoying the ride while it’s still relatively easy.
