Two words. Let’s begin.

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I’m not known for my patience and I wore this like a flashing neon sign around my neck on Saturday morning. It was only my second training session and my new running coach mentioned that he would email me my training schedule sometime in the next week. Without hesitation I said, “And the training will make me run faster, right?” Fail… I could see it in his eyes.

Structure. Consistency. Those are the two words he used in his reply to me. He first wants to set some structure into my running routine and start with the basics. He wants to assess where I am at the moment and what I want to run, and what my goals are. Then I need to get some consistency into my routine and we’ll work from there.

One step at a time and one day at a time. 

consistency

I must admit, this gives me a chance to gauge where I am too. Here’s what we’re working with:

  • My 5km PB – 37 minutes : Dischem 5km race
  • My 10km PB – 74 minutes : Vaal 10km race
  • My 21km PB – 2h48 : Two Oceans half marathon
  • My fastest km – 6:01 minutes

My average pace for majority of my runs is 8 minutes per km. This is the part I want to change. I’m not aiming to run Comrades, I’m not even aiming to run any specific race. I just need to see whether or not I can run faster. That’s all.

Structure and consistency. One step at a time. One day at a time. Oh, and to learn to be more patient. Can I throw that one in as well?

*Image from http://www.rockcreekrunner.com, a great new site I happened to stumble upon* 

 

4 thoughts on “Two words. Let’s begin.”

  1. Thank you for the website link – that’s really useful.
    I really want to improve my pace too. that’s my focus at the moment (well that and losing weight). My brother, SIL and husband all run under 6min and it’s frustrating being so far behind (I try to make myself feel better by saying it’s because I am the oldest!)

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  2. your times are very similar to mine… I am a bit slower than you. I often feel i walk too much and that if i could run instead of walking I would be faster overall. good luck with your training, if it works for you it means i have a chance to get faster too! 🙂

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    • Walking. LOL. I walk more than I run! I always tell people that I follow a run/walk strategy as if it’s on purpose. Meanwhile… And hey, your last 10km race you were way under 80 mins so I think you just might beat me currently. But ya, i’d rather finish a race in under 80 mins.

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