Hi Andy,
I should add that 7th out of 3000+ was probably because a lot of people walked! (Well, Race for Life is supposed to be a fun run/walk). I did 24:11 over a very undulating course, so I was dead chuffed with that. I was pleased with my half marathon time too - it didn't hurt at all and I didn't have to take any walking breaks. That said, though, do you find you have days where you go out and everything just seems to come together, you feel great, move well and could go on forever? Other days are just total non-starters. If the former coincides with a race then you're laughing. This certainly happened for me at my half marathon. Just three weeks before that, though, I ran the Nike 10K and it was a different story. Although I ran a PB, my first 10K was over a much more difficult course and I only managed to knock off a few seconds in the Nike. I know I should have been able to kill off 3-4 minutes, but I just didn't feel right on the day - tired, heavy, dehydrated ... and it was pretty humid and I don't run well in the heat.
Base training. Hmmm. How long do you have?? Seriously, it's not just about running slowly, it's about training totally aerobically. You don't do any fast training at all. The idea is that because the effort is so low you can ramp up the mileage quite quickly without risk of injury. You train at a certain heart rate, determined by 180-age then +/- 5-10 bpm depending on other factors. This feels ridiculously slow, but over time you should find (if you're doing it properly) that you can run further and faster without having to increase your HR. This makes your aerobic (fat burning) system much more efficient and helps to develop the slow-twitch muscle fibres you use for distance running. If you're interested in finding out more, the most concise article I found on it can be located at:
http://www.rrca.org/publicat/slowdown.html
I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now but I have to confess to finding it extremely frustrating. To keep my HR low enough I've gone from 8:30 minute miles to 10+ minute miles, and the slow pace is affecting the way I run (I find there's more, not less, pressure on my joints). Not sure how long I'll stick with it, or I may just make my own modifications ...
Debbie
