I am not sure where to start. My daughter has been running off and on for a while, but finally got serious just about a month ago as she was leading up to Cross Country training starting. She is going to be a Freshman and will be running Cross Country her first year. When she first got serious about running she almost cried when we went 2 miles because she had never been that far before.
When she ran with me before she was always right around the 9:30 mark for the mile, and that is about what she started with at the two mile distance as well. We have since built to 4 mile runs and she is doing those pretty easily with the team and her coaches now, although in my opinion she is not running them as fast as she should or could :)
Her fastest two mile run (without me trying to kill her) was a couple weeks ago when she ran one of the miles in 8:19. I was so very proud of her to say the least. Her best two mile run was at a 8:33 pace. Both of those runs she was completely spent at the end.
Well, today brings a new smile to my face. She did not run with her team today so when I got home we went for a two mile run. It was just starting to sprinkle a bit when we walked out the door, but we hit the road anyway. We took off at an easy but brisk pace. She was doing really good, but she did comment it was faster than she runs with the rest of the team. By the time we hit the first mile it was raining pretty good on us, but we still hit that first mile in 8:31. We made the turn and kept on moving. The rain kept up and we sped up. I tried to speed up a little, but keep it where I could see she was managing it well. Well, the punch line to this story is....... she finished that second mile in 7:45!!!!! That is right, 7:45!!! I told her we would stop at two miles no questions asked so that is what we did. She was acting as if she could keep going, it was easy to tell she had been putting the miles in. I then talked her in to running easy to get home since it was another .4 miles and it still was raining quite good. The last .4 slowed the pace for the overall run, but the overall pace still turned out to be 8:15! I am so very proud of her. Here is the log from this run >> link
Now..... on to the shoes
I just got my new shoes in today. A big thank you goes out to one of my new Twitter Buddies @RaceSpeed who runs the online store www.telarun.com and who helped me by answering many questions about shoes and suggested I buy the shoes I ultimatly bought from him.
I wanted to replace my shoes with the same New Balance MR768ST shoes since I really liked them and they were exactly what I needed. I ended up finding out that they were discontinued and no matter where I looked I could not find my size in the shoe I currently ran in. The shoes were replaced by the New Balance MR769SB, but I was nervous that they would be enough different and would cause me problems.
The shoes I bought were in fact the New Balance MR769SB, and they came in the mail today. This same run became my trial run with my new shoes. If all is based on the first run, I am sold! I forgot what it was like to have the feet and legs feel so good. I guess that is because I had way too many miles on my old shoes (don't ask how many)
Bottom line, the day started out horrible, but it ended on running cloud 9!
Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow
Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com - subscribe - follow
Hi, So glad the shoe worked out properly. Also nice to be reminded of my runs with daughter. Cherish these moments they bring life long smiles.
ReplyDeleteRaceSpeed
Remember - most high schoolers have never run a mile before. So the goal of the coaches are to build aerobic base by putting in the miles at a lower pace (they try to keep heart rates around 75% to 85% of max). By keeping it long and slow, they will build endurance while minimizing injury. When my son was a Freshman, I was suprised at how many kids had hip, knee and leg problems just from running too fast too often.
ReplyDeleteYou daughter should kick butt when the season starts!
Gerald - thanks again for the help!
ReplyDeleteGlenn - I tell her to run what the coaches tell her to run, but not to run with others that will make her slower. I have her run a little faster with me because I know she can do it. She runs much slower with the team and coaches. Those slower miles are just as important.... we sometimes forget. My guess is she is running close to 9 minute miles with the team.
Thanks for the comments!
NOthing like being able to run with family. great blog
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris! And thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for swinging by my blog. :o)
ReplyDeleteAlso, great work to your daughter! She's got a very bright future ahead of her.
Excellent news all round!
ReplyDeleteConsistency for your daughter is key. A solid summer will really pay dividends come XC season. Having you as a running partner will help no end Tim.
Glad you got the shoe issue sorted too. Enjoy...
--Steve
How old is your daughter? I have a 27 year that will run with me sometimes. It's great father-daughter time, as you know. However, she doesn't run the blazing splits that your daughter does!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is just 13, going on 14. She sometimes doesn't like me during the running, but always thanks me afterwards.
ReplyDeleteShe just ran her first 5k race last night.
http://blog.262quest.com/2009/06/swat-trot-2009-race-report.html
It is very interesting for me to read this post. Thanks the author for it. I like such topics and anything connected to them. BTW, try to add some pics :).
ReplyDeleteNice blog you got here. It would be great to read something more concerning this topic. Thnx for posting that information.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting for me to read this post. Thanks the author for it. I like such topics and anything connected to them. BTW, try to add some pics :).
ReplyDeleteHow old is your daughter? I have a 27 year that will run with me sometimes. It's great father-daughter time, as you know. However, she doesn't run the blazing splits that your daughter does!
ReplyDeleteHi, So glad the shoe worked out properly. Also nice to be reminded of my runs with daughter. Cherish these moments they bring life long smiles.
ReplyDeleteRaceSpeed