I’m looking forward to more great efforts this summer!
4th of July
We had some really great results from the 4th of July weekend. In all, 5 people representing TrainwithMarc raced.
The Pelerins ran the Marlton 5k (which I’ve decided I most likely will not race there again, despite the ease of babysitting and it being my hometown). While I don’t want to necessarily bash a race – I’m sure they’re doing their best – it was a few minor things that add up to it not feeling like it’s worth continuing to support them.
Tim ran a similar time to me over at the Haddon Heights 5k. Meanwhile, a little west of both of us, Shannon ran the Riverton 5k.
Halfway across the country, Michael lined up for his 5k and ran a really great race for just getting back into running.
Pacing in the Heat
It had been a really long time since I last raced – and a long time since I’ve started a run so late in the morning with the heat and humidity.
As soon as the race started, I bolted to the front, much to the disappointment of my coaching brain, and chugged down Main Street. After about a kilometer, the competitor in me thought he could get 4th place overall. The coach in me lit up like fireworks and scolded the athlete-me for trying to crush myself only 1/5 into the race.
After slowing down to a 5:29 mile, I knew it would be a suffer-fest for the rest of the race.
As I’ve told many a runner before, you can’t unburn toast. I was the burnt toast.
I slowed down – not by choice – and hung on for 7th place overall (even though the results say 6th) [one of the minor complaints about the race].
So here’s my advice to you all: be competitive, yes, but also stay within yourself. Because when you’re used to running at 5 and 6 am, the conditions are much more favorable compared to racing at 8 or 8:30 am. You have to adapt your racing strategy for you to come out of it feeling accomplished and satisfied with the effort.
Going out hard and suffering doesn’t show you what your true fitness is. Lesson learned.
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Track Workouts
I like track workouts, no doubt. But what I’m coming to realize more and more is that I love running with people. Not every day, no, no. I still like going my pace, where I want to go, and even sometimes listening to music and a podcast.
But this week, the SJ Dads prepped for next week’s Rebel Relays with a “dad mile”.
I definitely didn’t have my sea legs back yet, so I planned on just running a workout and incorporating their mile into it.
I threw that plan out the window after 400 meters. I huffed and puffed following Omar and Tim around the track and before I knew it I was all-out. I stopped the clock at 5:09 (for a 1600) – not exactly what I had planned for 5 minutes earlier, but I was absolutely pleasantly surprised by the results.
I’m not sure what to chalk up this immediate gain in fitness from… Maybe the lightning (not suggesting you risk your health for this gain) or maybe it was just the friends and the company.
Whatever the magic in the bottle I caught, I’m hoping that I can link up with guys again in the future because I hadn’t had that much fun running in a long time.
Do you have a group of friends who you do workouts with? Tell me about the positive experiences you’ve had running workouts with them.
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