Perceived Effort vs. Actual Effort

Some days, I feel like I'm running so hard and so fast I'm about to lose a lung. When I look down to my Garmin, I'm only running an 11:30/mile. And some days, I feel like I'm losing a lung because I'm practically flying at the speed of light (aka- 9:30/mile). Most of the time when my perceived effort is so drastically higher than my actual effort, it's on the second half of a long run.

When I was getting ready for half marathon #3, I did 3 (or 4?) 10 mile pace runs. I chose a speed I thought I could sustain for every mile. On pretty much every single run, I went out too fast and ended up tanking for the last three miles.

This morning, I had "10 mile pace" on my schedule. I decided to try Hal Higdon's 3/1 run:

"A 3/1 run is one in which you run the first three-fourths of the distance at a comfortable pace, then accelerate to near race pace over the last one quarter of the workout. (You should finish refreshed, not fatigued.)"

For my first 7 miles, I attempted to keep a near 11:00/mile pace, and then tried to make the last three miles consecutively faster. The result?

Wild success! Keeping 11 per mile was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I ran slowly until the mile was almost complete, then started walking to slow the pace down. Each walk break allowed me time to recover and run the next mile just as strong as the previous (why, hello Jeff Galloway!) I averaged just about 10:50/mile for the first third, then I finished strong:

Mile 8:10:28
Mile 9: 10:22
Mile 10: 9:24

Eventually, I'd like to get my conservative speed just a little quicker. Alas, Rome was not built in a day.

When I got home, I tried some protein powder I received in the mail from Kari @ Running Ricig's giveaway: Gotein!



I tried the strawberry because I felt like it had the most to prove. Vanilla can pretty much mix with anything, and I automatically like anything chocolate. Strawberry, on the other hand? If I liked the strawberry, then I'd be bound to like the other flavors. So I mixed it up in water (as per the instructions) and headed back out the door to take Little Paws for his morning walk.

(Yes, I do make him carry his own poop bag, thankyouverymuch!)

After the first sip, my reaction was: meh. It tasted like watered down milk. But the more I drank it, the more I grew to like it. I'm sure I'll love the other two flavors, whether I put them in water, (soy)milk, or a smoothie.

But will I buy it?

Probably not. There are only 17 grams of protein in each serving, and at just over $2 a pop, I think I can find more bang for my buck elsewhere. Sorry, Gotein! Flavor is good, convenience is nice, but you're just a little too expensive. Live and learn. Huge thanks to Kari for sending it to me!!


It's almost Friday!!! What are your plans for the weekend? Hubs and I are going to be running the River Bound 15k Trail Run!! (and he thought I couldn't turn him into a runner! ha!)