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June 2, 2011

My Happy Pace :)

Running is a personal thing for me.  I run alone, I run to think, I run to clear my head.  I run my own way at my own pace.  I am slow, but I'm okay with that.  When I race, I am only racing me.  Sometimes when I read other people's blogs it seems like the entire world is faster than me.  I mean WAY faster.  Which is fine, but sometimes it just makes me feel like a turtle!  But then I remind myself that a few years ago I could barely run a mile, and I remember how far I've come.  And then once again, it's just about my own running again, not anybody else's.  Thank goodness. :)

With that thought in mind, when Girls on the Run co-coach Lauren showed up to practice last week in a tank top with this very message on it, I had to order it IMMEDIATELY from the GOTR online store...
Go to your happy pace.  :)  Sweet, simple, perfect.  And it's exactly what I did on my run today!  I didn't worry too much about the pace showing on my garmin...instead I listened to my body and ran at a happy pace that felt good to my IT bands.  I stopped when they started hurting, because a happy pace shouldn't hurt your body.  Happily, that happy pace carried my 3.7 miles today!  I'm not going to lie, I could feel my IT bands the whole time, but there wasn't any PAIN until the very end.  3.7 is definitely an improvement!  Post-run my garmin showed an average pace of 10:27/mile.  Which is probably slower than 90% of runners' paces, but that's okay.  Because it is MY happy pace. :)
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4 comments:

  1. EliseJune 2, 2011 at 7:52 PM

    Girl, that's faster than me! :) Glad you're able to run with less pain!

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  2. JuliaJune 2, 2011 at 9:39 PM

    LOVE LOVE LOVE this! And that shirt is awesome! I love to go run on trails with my pup during the week to just do short runs and I always try to just run at a pace that just feels natural and enjoyable...that is ALWAYS 10:30 for me as well. And I am totally okay with that. Sure I would like to improve but I don't want to be running a pace that is only hurting my body right now. I would rather be able to run for a while than for a short time saying I went fast. I get more satisfaction out of the first! Thanks for sharing your experience!

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  3. Rachelle WardleJune 3, 2011 at 11:58 AM

    Love this post. I totally agree about the "happy pace". When I go out and try to kill myself I do not enjoy my runs. Running at a happy pace just feels so natural and good.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  4. FranJune 4, 2011 at 7:09 AM

    You and I are the same type of runners. I run for the same reasons as you do. I don't mind running alone at all, in fact I love it. I see enough people around me all day. Running is me time.

    I'm not a fast runner either and I don't care. I'm running for me and I'm happy to read you are doing the same.

    Read in your other post you watched 20 episodes of Glee. I love that show. I have a Glee appointment every Saturday afternoon with my recorder and watch the latest episode. We have 4 more to go till the season final.

    ReplyDelete