A post over at Runner’s Life about running with a particular pace group got me thinking about my own running over the past few weeks. I commented on this post that the opposite effect happens to me - I often find that I push myself to run with a faster pace group during group runs than I do when I run on my own. I have not been involved in a clinic since my 10-K group finished up near the end of September. As such, the majority of my runs have been on my own and my Garmin read-outs are definitely showing a slower average pace.
I am glad I start a new clinic next week - training for the half-marathon in February. This will allow me to run with a group more frequently and I can once again start to focus on running a bit faster. I do need to learn how to push myself to run a bit faster during my individual runs, but for now I will let the groups push me along.
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I also tend to run with a group a little faster than me. Unfortunately we’re still being observed at this club, so we have to run with the group they assign us to for the first few weeks.
Sometimes a slower run is a good thing. A relaxing run can help improve your next run. That aside, like you when I run on my own, I also tend to run slower. However, if I want to run faster when running on my own, I plan my route to run where I might run past or into others,. Not wanting to look “bad” this will push me to try and run with a better form and a little more speed. Its kind of like when I used to ski. I would often ski along the lift lines, not to show off, but because it forced me to try and ski better.
If you can’t run where there’s an “audience” then try setting mental goals like “I must reach the next km by x minutes”. Pick markers along your route and set a goal for each to show improvement.
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