Time vs. Distance

 

I have loved my 10K Runner plan.  It was smart, balanced and I'm convinced it helped to keep me injury free. 

But...

Now that I'm moving on to training for my half marathon, running for time isn't doing it for me.  I'm finding that I run faster when I have a training distance I need to accomplish versus running for a certain number of minutes.  Mentally it's hard for me to run hard for 60 minutes because I'm afraid I'll run out of gas.  It also gives me a bit of permission to slack off because 60 minutes is 60 minutes no matter how fast or hard you push.

But running for miles... for whatever reason it's easier for me to tell how much farther I have to go and I can pace myself accordingly.  And pace is becoming more and more important as I am training for a race that doesn't give you a medal for running for 120 minutes.  It gives you a medal for crossing the finish line after 13.1 miles.

And really, if I'm feeling good after completing my alloted mileage, I can always run another few miles.  I know this is a completely mental game but hey, whatever works because, like I learned during my 10K, running is just as much mental as it is physical.