Thanks for the reminder to just get out there and enjoy my run.  I'm VERY competitive and competitive with myself, so I get frustrated when I see myself moving backwards instead of forwards.  I generally do a 4 mile run on Saturdays since I'm not currently doing any races.  Once I start doing races most Saturdays, I will have to move my long run to another day.  I map all my runs because I run on a trail where the distance isn't marked so I need to know where to turn around at (I do an out and back run) and like to know what my total mileage was when I get done.  I *try* not to pay attention to my pace and just focus on running a little further each week without stopping to walk, but my app automatically calculates my pace so I see it when I'm done and get frustrated when it's slower.  Really hoping my run today will go better and I won't feel like I'm about to die before I reach the 2 mile mark, haha!

Yea, but my race last Saturday was at 5:00 and it was on a day we broke record temps so it was still 100 degrees when we ran.  It's only been getting up to the low 90's this week.  I definitely expect my times to be a little slower than they were a couple of months ago due to the heat, and I'm actually hoping that on morning runs this will help me since like you said it should only be in the 70's or low 80's.  I just don't really feel like any of my factors have changed much since Saturday so I'm getting frustrated.  I don't feel like I had the adrenaline of being at a race, because the race was TINY...only like 30 people, so I really felt more like I was just out on one of my normal runs, but maybe I had more adrenaline than I realized that pushed me to be able to run the entire 2 miles without stopping...and run it at a decent pace!  Going to do my best to put my pace and my time out of my head and just get my miles in and focus on trying to run further without stopping each week.

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Im very competitive also.  My brother-in-law always reminds me to "Train to race Dont Race to Train". My training pace should always be slower then my race pace. I keep a log of my training mileage and pace also, I admit I use to get frustrated by bad runs also. But after training for 2 years I realized I going to have plenty of training sessions. But Im only going to have so many races during the season. So I save all my competitive energy for the races.

Could the heat and humidity be affecting your run?  Also try to keep a positive frame of mind when running.  Negative thinking will definitely effect your training.  The most difficult thing for me to do when running is to keep a positive frame of mind.

Oh yeah another thing, it could be your starting too fast, try starting really slow then adjust to a comfortable pace.

Im sure you will get it. Good luck and have fun:)

When I did W3D1 yesterday, I only covered 2.27 miles for the whole 5 minute warm-up, run/walk times, and 5 minute cool-down walk. My last two during week 2 had been 2.46 and 2.44 miles, respectively. Maybe I tried to conserve too much energy for the run yesterday. I'm going to try and  bump the pace a little bit tomorrow morning so that I can at least get back to the 2.44 or 2.46 distance. I haven't signed up for any races yet, but the local running club is doing some 5K runs on Thursday nights in June, so I'm going to try and head out to those starting next Thursday, just to be running in company. The only thing about it is that it will be 6:30 in the evening, so it'll probably still be 90 degrees outside.

snortman

My run went well again, no heat or humidity in Seattle unlike everyone else is experiencing in this blog.  It's in the lower 50's early morning or 67 in the afternoons (on a warm day in Seattle) ideal for running fast and hard. Today I ran at around 90 - 95% of my Max Heart Rate for 3.1 miles (5k) and testing that out to see what I should expect my 1/2 marathon I should be.    NOTE: Please don't try to max your heart rate out if you're not conditioned for it, you may die...especially in the heat you're all running in.

Does anyone have a formula for translating what they should be pacing at based on what their 5k time is?  I recall reading an article about it but I lost it.

I recall something like this: 5K = X

X times a (fudge factor) = your goal time in the 10K

X times another (fudge factor) = your goal time in 1/2 Marathon

X times another (fudge factor) = your goal time in a Marathon

Heck I'm on a roll: X times another (fudge factor) = your goal time in an Ultra Marathon (125+ Miles)...lol

Note: fudge factor = (time, money, willingness and patient significant other)

Use a running calculator, the McMillan Running Calculator works great.  Put a time in for a distance and it gives you paces for your work outs.  Just search McMillan Running Calculator it is a great tool.

Apparently being mad at myself for my slower pace the past couple of days helped me when I went out on my run yesterday.  I was able to run without stopping for a full 20 minutes, which ended up being about 2.1 miles.  I finished my 3.3 mile run in a 10.50 min/mi pace which was still a little slow, but much better than 11.20 min/mi!  Overall, I was much happier with my run yesterday since I was able to push myself to run further AND brought my time down some.  Hopefully I can continue in this direction over the next couple of weeks and be happy with my first 5K results.  I'm rewarding myself today (today is my off day) by going to enjoy some time laying out by the pool this afternoon