Is fatigue part mental? With my last few long runs, I'd look at my pace, get disappointed and try to go faster only to get more tired and wind up walking.
I ran that 10 mile route again yesterday. And this time I refused to look at my pace. (Of course, I still wore my watch. I have to know how far I've gone and my actual pace once I'm done.) And I actually ran the whole way and felt pretty damn good. I was actually smiling and saying good morning to everyone I saw. This older lady, maybe around 50 or 60, said good morning to me and then left me eating her dust. I was awestruck and amazed. I want to be like her!
Anyway, here are my splits/pace for this route for comparison, with the dates being 08/17/10, 01/16/11 and 02/13/11 respectively:
Mile 1: 10:42 11:19 11:19
Mile 2: 10:51 11:28 11:35
Mile 3: 10:36 11:01 11:05
Mile 4: 11:08 10:55 11:35
Mile 5: 10:58 12:00 11:38
Mile 6: 11:20 12:00 11:45
Mile 7: 11:04 12:10 12:15
Mile 8: 11:06 12:46 11:46
Mile 9: 10:59 12:42 11:36
Mile 10: 12:02 13:19 12:16
.2-.3 9:56 11:34 11:23
Total: 1:52:57 2:03:32 2:00:19
Avg pace: 11:03 11:57 11:41
Granted, I was no where near as fast as I was back in August. But my splits were pretty consistent and I felt good for the whole run, unlike last time where I just kept getting more and more tired and slower as the run progressed. This time I forced myself to stay slow and relaxed and to just enjoy it. It was an epiphany. (Note that Mile 10 has a huge hill, hence the slow time for that mile for all 3 runs.)
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