Jenny's (& Jordan's) Star Wars Training Journal (Comments Welcome!)

[JennysSeven]

Hello all! I've been lurking around this section of the boards for awhile, reading a lot of the training journals here. I haven't felt "qualified" to post my own, mostly because I have a hard time thinking of myself as "a runner" and I'm still in the baby stages. But I'd love some accountability/advice and this seems like a friendly and knowledgeable group!

A little bit of background... I am 47 years old (48 next month--eek!) and moderately active, but was never a runner. I can walk for miles and miles, but I always (only half-jokingly) told people, "If you ever see me running, you'd better run too because something bad is chasing us!" LOL.

I don't even remember now why, but back in the beginning of February of this year my then 14-year-old son, Jordan, and I decided to try doing a Couch to 5K program and run an actual 5K at the end of it. Turns out my son is a natural runner. Me, not so much, but I stuck with it and we both ran a local 5K together at the end of March. And by "together" I mean we were both at the same event--he left me in the dust, finishing in 26 minutes and change while I barely managed to come in under 40 minutes.

While we were in the middle of C25K, I started looking at this board and telling Jordan about the runDisney races. Since we're HUGE Disney fans, I thought a Disney race would be a fabulous motivator. Of course his first suggestion was "Ooh, let's do Dopey next year!" to which I had to reply "Not so fast, buddy, I don't want to die yet!" or some such. So, fast forward a few months and we decided on the Star Wars Kessel Run Challenge instead.

So we're currently training for that, and I have to admit I have NO idea what I'm doing! At this point, I'm mostly trying to build up my endurance, and not really worrying too much about speed. But eventually I'll have to work on that too. Our biggest challenge right now is trying to figure out the most effective ways to train together, since Jordan is considerably faster than I am.

If you made it this far, thanks!! I'll share what we're doing so far in a different post.

 

[JennysSeven]

Where we are right now...

We kept running 3x a week for a few weeks after the 5k (so until mid-April) and then because of increasing heat (we live in central Texas) and several trips (we traveled a lot between May and July) we pretty much stopped doing our runs. We started back up again in mid-August, and with the exception of a week-long anniversary trip to WDW for hubby and I in September and another week where we had back to back trips, we've been pretty consistent with running 3x per week. I briefly tried the Galloway method on the runDisney site since I was needing to take walk breaks, but found it pretty distracting. So I just run and take a break when I need to.

A couple weeks ago I was looking at training plans online and found a Higdon plan that sorta fits what I'm wanting to do. I jumped in at week 3 because the previous 2 weeks were pretty much what I'd already been doing, and did week 4 this week. Week 3 was a 3-mile run, a 2-mile run, and then a 4-mile run. Week 4 (the week ending today) was 2, 2, and 2. Next week is 4, 3, and 5.

I've gotten to the point where I can run 4 miles on the treadmill with no breaks, at a 15 minute pace, and still feel like I can keep going. For whatever reason that I cannot figure out, I can't run as slowly outside. I'm slow, but even if it feels like I'm baaaaarely moving, I'm still going at more like a 12-13 minute pace, and of course it knocks me out sooner and I have to take walk breaks. Maybe my stride is longer outside since I'm not running "in place" like I am on the treadmill? Would that make a difference? It's a mystery to me. Today I ran 2 miles outside and tried really hard to slow down, but I still averaged 13:24. I did make it the whole way without walking, but I was far more winded than I am when I run on the treadmill.

Future plans:
The plan that I'm loosely following is 10 weeks long, so it ends in early December. I'm hoping by that point I'll be ready to switch to a half marathon plan and have the right amount of time to finish it. Jordan wants to see if he can submit a POT for the Star Wars Rival Run, so we're going to run a local 10 miler on New Year's Eve. I'd rather do a 10K but the only 10k near us before the cutoff is Thanksgiving Day, and we won't be here so 10 miles it is. His goal will be POT; my goal will be finishing that distance without totally dying in the last few miles. Thankfully they're allowing something like 4 1/2 hours before they have to open the roads back up so I don't have to worry about being fast. I know I can walk 10 miles faster than that.

We're also doing a 5K on 11/11, just to get in more race experience. I have a decision to make on that one. The event has both a 5k and a 5-miler, and I'm wondering if I should try the 5 miles instead if we're going to be shooting for 10 miles a month and a half later. By 11/11, I should have done 2 training runs that are equal to or longer than 5 miles. Thoughts?

 

[Kazrak]

That sounds awfully familiar, to be honest. I was 43 when my daughter said, "Hey, we're going to be at WDW over Marathon Weekend, let's run a race." And now, I'm...47. Um. And training for the Rival Run Challenge as well, although my daughter can't run with me for it. (She's in college now, and has classes the next day.) Wife and younger son are doing the 5k that weekend.

Treadmill running is very different from running outside, and I definitely had issues controlling my speed when I transitioned. I suspect it's just that on the treadmill, the machine will keep the pace for you. Could be a longer stride, could be faster cadence - no good way to tell unless you've got something tracking your cadence. I think the best thing for it is just doing more outside runs, as the weather permits.

A 10 mile might be rough but should be doable, I think. Definitely don't worry too much about PoT, but you might surprise yourself.

Given that you've got a 5k under your belt already...I could see either option for the 11/11 race. Another 5k would give you a chance to directly compare times with the earlier one, but a 5 mile would give you a longer distance under race conditions.

Either way:

 

[Jules76126]

Looking forward to following along on your journey. I haven't run a Disney race yet, definitely on the list.

 

[JennysSeven]

Week 5 is done!

Monday was 40 minutes of cross-training, which means me playing around with different things at the gym to see what I like and what works for me. I did 10 minutes on the rowing machine and 30 minutes on a stationery bike, using the cardio function where it changes the resistance to keep your heart rate steady. Prior to running, my go-to at the gym was always the elliptical so I'm trying new things.

Tuesday was a 4-mile run. I did the first 3 miles at 4.2 mph, so what is that, about 14:48 per mile? I had to bump it back down to 4.0 / 15:00 mile for the last mile.

Wednesday was supposed to be stretch and strength, so I stretched and then did some basic upper body stuff with hand dumbbells I have at home. I don't really have a great plan for strength training yet.

Thursday was 3 miles outside (actually our route is more like 3.2, but I stop timing at 3.1 to make it kind of a practice 5K) I ran most of it minus a few minutes to warm up at the beginning and maybe 1/4 mile later on when an uphill portion about did me in, lol. Average pace over the 3.1 was 13:04 per mile.

Friday was a rest day.

Saturday (today) was 5 miles! And I made it without walking except for the several seconds I had to awkwardly march in place while resetting the treadmill which apparently can't be set for more than 60 minutes. So 5 miles at 4.0 / 15:00 per mile.

If anyone had told me back when my son and I started c25K this past winter that I'd ever run 5 miles without stopping I would have totally laughed at them! I realize I still have a long way to go, but I'm pretty excited about how far I've come.

Jordan did the 4 miles at the gym and the 3 miles outside with me. He's faster than I am so he runs ahead and does an extra loop here or there so we finish more or less together, so he's getting more distance each time too. Today I went by myself, so we'll have to work in a run for him later today or tomorrow.

So next week's runs are supposed to be 4 miles, then 3 miles, then 6 (!!!) miles. And 2 days of cross-training and one stretch and strengthen. Still trying to figure out the best way to fit those in and what to actually do for them.

Oh, and Jordan wants to do the 5k for the race on 11/11, to try to beat his previous time. So I'm going to just do that one as well.

 

[JennysSeven]

Early week 6 check in...

Ended up getting Jordan's 5-mile run in on Sunday, on a route through our neighborhood with him running and my 12-year-old and me on bicycles. It was HOT, so not the most pleasant run for him. I was glad I'd done mine at the gym!

Yesterday I did absolutely nothing. So we'll count that as a rest day.

Today we went to the gym for 4 miles on the treadmill. I'm really not sure what I should be doing speed-wise--I mean I've read the "long run" should be slow, but I don't really have runs that are truly long yet. My longest to date has been the 5 miles on Saturday which was 75 minutes. So I have no idea if I'm supposed to be trying to go faster on shorter ones or just keeping them pretty much all the same speed while I slowly add miles. How is this supposed to be done?

Anyway, after warming up today I ran the first mile at 4.2 (14:17 min/mile, my math was totally off last time), the second mile bumped back down to 4.0 (15:00), then on the 3rd mile got way too ambitious (and tired of my face being inches from the TV screen, lol) and bumped it to 5.0 (12:00). I could only last half a mile at that rate, so I went back down to 4.2 for the rest of mile 3 and then down to 4.0 for mile 4. No idea if changing it up is helpful or not.

Oh, and I wore cute black stretchy pants that I've never run in but are supposed to be athletic pants--NEVER again! They were sooooo hot to run in, even in the 70-degree gym. Yuck! I might need to go do some shopping.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Today we went to the gym for 4 miles on the treadmill. I'm really not sure what I should be doing speed-wise--I mean I've read the "long run" should be slow, but I don't really have runs that are truly long yet. My longest to date has been the 5 miles on Saturday which was 75 minutes. So I have no idea if I'm supposed to be trying to go faster on shorter ones or just keeping them pretty much all the same speed while I slowly add miles. How is this supposed to be done?

You're early in the process, so it would be hard to nail down an exact pace per se. But one thing that can be translatable across all training plans from new runner to multi-year veteran is the idea of running most of your runs slower. So what's the easiest way to figure that out? Pay attention to your breathing. If you feel like you're barely trying (can't even really tell you're breathing), then you're going at the right pace. If you're running 3 times per week, then I'd say the 2 weekday runs should be "as slow as you can comfortably go and feels like you're barely trying". For the weekend long run, aim for a "I'm noticing I'm trying, but it's still really really easy". As time passes and you continue to build up mileage, then you can start to approach adding in paces other than super easy. Two helpful things that can help you know whether you did the right pace:

1) Did you see a pace fade? Was the beginning of the run faster than the end? Was the end slower because your bodies fatigue forced you to be slower? If yes, then the run was likely too hard. On the next run of a similar nature, try starting a little slower and seeing if that helps avoid a fade.

2) At the end of the run, do you feel like you could do one more? That's one more mile, or one more interval, or one more whatever is related to the purpose of that training run. If the answer is yes, then you were probably pretty close to being on target. If you feel like you couldn't give "one more", then you probably trained too fast.

As counterintuitive as it seems, training slower can help lead to racing faster. So just be patient, enjoy the journey, and reap the benefits of endurance training over months/years of good consistent effort.

If you really want to nail down a pace idea, then you can attempt something called the Galloway Mile. Do a short warm-up of about 7-10 min of really easy running. Then run a mile at what you would consider about 75-90% of what you're capable of (again attempt to avoid a fade at the end of the mile and try to pace the whole mile as evenly as possible). Based on the outcome of the mile, we can make a general assumption about your baseline speed which we can then translate into other paces as a guideline.

 

[JennysSeven]

You're early in the process, so it would be hard to nail down an exact pace per se. But one thing that can be translatable across all training plans from new runner to multi-year veteran is the idea of running most of your runs slower. So what's the easiest way to figure that out? Pay attention to your breathing. If you feel like you're barely trying (can't even really tell you're breathing), then you're going at the right pace. If you're running 3 times per week, then I'd say the 2 weekday runs should be "as slow as you can comfortably go and feels like you're barely trying". For the weekend long run, aim for a "I'm noticing I'm trying, but it's still really really easy". As time passes and you continue to build up mileage, then you can start to approach adding in paces other than super easy. Two helpful things that can help you know whether you did the right pace:

1) Did you see a pace fade? Was the beginning of the run faster than the end? Was the end slower because your bodies fatigue forced you to be slower? If yes, then the run was likely too hard. On the next run of a similar nature, try starting a little slower and seeing if that helps avoid a fade.

2) At the end of the run, do you feel like you could do one more? That's one more mile, or one more interval, or one more whatever is related to the purpose of that training run. If the answer is yes, then you were probably pretty close to being on target. If you feel like you couldn't give "one more", then you probably trained too fast.

As counterintuitive as it seems, training slower can help lead to racing faster. So just be patient, enjoy the journey, and reap the benefits of endurance training over months/years of good consistent effort.

If you really want to nail down a pace idea, then you can attempt something called the Galloway Mile. Do a short warm-up of about 7-10 min of really easy running. Then run a mile at what you would consider about 75-90% of what you're capable of (again attempt to avoid a fade at the end of the mile and try to pace the whole mile as evenly as possible). Based on the outcome of the mile, we can make a general assumption about your baseline speed which we can then translate into other paces as a guideline.

Thanks for the tips! That's helpful to know that I can just keep running slowly for now, more or less, although I was assuming it was the longest run that should be the slowest. The thing that will make that challenging is that so far I've been doing my longest run on the treadmill, and the shorter ones outside, and I can't run as slowly outside as I can on the treadmill. I'll have to work on that, or switch runs around. When our weather finally cools off for good I can do longer runs and more of them outside.

Thinking about your questions, for the 1st one about pace fade, I looked back at the Map My Walk stats for my outdoor runs (most of which are on a 3.1 mile route through our neighborhood) and my pace is pretty consistent (sometimes as few as 6 seconds between the fastest and slowest mile, sometimes more like 20) and the second mile is consistently the slowest with the 1st and 3rd being nearly the same. Now, there are factors that affect that--I'm at the bottom of a hill so my route is uphill the first half and downhill the 2nd half, more or less, so it's easier to go faster heading back.

For the 2nd question of could I do "one more," the answer to that is...probably? LOL. On my treadmill runs, I absolutely could do another one when I'm doing my 15:00/mile runs. Outside I typically average somewhere between 12:45 and 13:00, and while I'm breathing more heavily on those I'm pretty sure I could keep going if I wanted to, at least another half mile. I'm not totally winded or anything when I'm done.

I did go out today and try the Galloway magic mile. Turns out I'm a bit faster than I thought I would be. I did .6 mile to the top of the street and back slowly (13:40 pace), then ran a 1-mile loop in 10:49. I had estimated that I would end up at about 12:00 based on my typical outside runs, so I was surprised it was over a minute faster. I tried to pace myself as evenly as I could. The uphill portions were also into the wind, which today is 18 mph. Talk about feeling like you're running into a wall! The last quarter-mile was the fastest, but it was also downhill with the wind at my back.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thanks for the tips! That's helpful to know that I can just keep running slowly for now, more or less, although I was assuming it was the longest run that should be the slowest. The thing that will make that challenging is that so far I've been doing my longest run on the treadmill, and the shorter ones outside, and I can't run as slowly outside as I can on the treadmill. I'll have to work on that, or switch runs around. When our weather finally cools off for good I can do longer runs and more of them outside.

No worries. If that's what works best for your situation, then you'll be fine. It's just a matter of making sure almost all the training you do feels really easy.

Thinking about your questions, for the 1st one about pace fade, I looked back at the Map My Walk stats for my outdoor runs (most of which are on a 3.1 mile route through our neighborhood) and my pace is pretty consistent (sometimes as few as 6 seconds between the fastest and slowest mile, sometimes more like 20) and the second mile is consistently the slowest with the 1st and 3rd being nearly the same. Now, there are factors that affect that--I'm at the bottom of a hill so my route is uphill the first half and downhill the 2nd half, more or less, so it's easier to go faster heading back.

Great job on the consistency! You could look into using Strava (either as a running app or as a tool to store runs). It has a feature called "GAP" (Grade Adjusted Pace) which takes into account hills. I run mostly by effort/pace and find that GAP lines up quite nicely with a very consistent pace on a hilly run when my actual pace varies quite a bit. It's a nice double check to show I'm slowing down enough when going up the hills.

For the 2nd question of could I do "one more," the answer to that is...probably? LOL. On my treadmill runs, I absolutely could do another one when I'm doing my 15:00/mile runs. Outside I typically average somewhere between 12:45 and 13:00, and while I'm breathing more heavily on those I'm pretty sure I could keep going if I wanted to, at least another half mile. I'm not totally winded or anything when I'm done.

Perfect.

I did go out today and try the Galloway magic mile. Turns out I'm a bit faster than I thought I would be. I did .6 mile to the top of the street and back slowly (13:40 pace), then ran a 1-mile loop in 10:49. I had estimated that I would end up at about 12:00 based on my typical outside runs, so I was surprised it was over a minute faster. I tried to pace myself as evenly as I could. The uphill portions were also into the wind, which today is 18 mph. Talk about feeling like you're running into a wall! The last quarter-mile was the fastest, but it was also downhill with the wind at my back.

Well done! Here's an estimated chart based on that mile. Everything requires appropriate training, but this would be an estimate:



As for training paces:



So, I'd say about 80% of training around 14:21 min/mile or slower. And then some pacing around 12:30-13:00 min/mile thrown in sparingly. So looks like you're doing a pretty good job on your pacing (assuming again that the 10:49 mile is near the max performance which sounds like it might not be given the wind and hills on the mile time trial). Let me know what you think!

 

[JennysSeven]

Wow, @DopeyBadger, that is very helpful! Thanks so much for the pace charts! Looking at the numbers for the half marathon, that is both scary and encouraging...I can't imagine at this point keeping up those paces for 13 miles, but it's cool to think that if I keep up the training, I could be able to do that by race day. For the Star Wars half I don't have any particular time goals at this point, but I want to be sure I have a very comfortable cushion for photo ops, etc. These numbers make me feel better about those chances.

I will look into Strava sometime this week when I have some time. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[JennysSeven]

Week 6 recap:
Sunday--I rode 5 miles on my bike while Jordan finished his 5-mile run from the end of week 5
Monday--rest
Tuesday--4 miles treadmill (he did a bit more than that since he's faster than I am)
Wednesday--nothing, unless you count walking the neighborhood in the rain so the kids could trick-or-treat--apparently getting candy trumps staying dry!
Thursday--3.1 mile run outside
Friday--nothing (I really need to work on getting in those cross-training segments!)
Saturday--1.6 miles--.6 mile warm-up then Galloway mile, which came in at a surprising (for me!) 10:49 Since it was warm (75) I didn't want to continue and finish my long run outside, so I put it off until Sunday when I could go to the gym.
Sunday--6 miles treadmill, at 15:00 m/m. I did take a quick break to go to the water fountain when I had to reset the treadmill at 60 minutes/4 miles, but it was otherwise continuous. The last quarter to third of a mile or so got a bit harder--not breathing-wise, but my knees and shins started complaining a bit and feeling tight. I was pretty sore last night. Thankfully they feel pretty normal today.

I remembered to take my headphones that fit the treadmill (my regular ones have a lightening plug for my iphone) so I watched a football game while running. That proved dangerous, lol! You know how sometimes when you're watching someone having to move in a certain direction or dodge, etc., you subconsciously move that way yourself? Or maybe that's just me, lol. Anyway, I almost ran off the side of the treadmill a few times and hit the "stop" button accidentally once. Next time I should find something calmer to watch. LOL!

Week 7 cuts back on mileage again. So our 3 runs this week will be 3, 3, and 4 miles. Last time the mileage dialed back I was a bit disappointed. This time I appreciate the break!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Wow, @DopeyBadger, that is very helpful! Thanks so much for the pace charts! Looking at the numbers for the half marathon, that is both scary and encouraging...I can't imagine at this point keeping up those paces for 13 miles, but it's cool to think that if I keep up the training, I could be able to do that by race day. For the Star Wars half I don't have any particular time goals at this point, but I want to be sure I have a very comfortable cushion for photo ops, etc. These numbers make me feel better about those chances.

I will look into Strava sometime this week when I have some time. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'd say you definitely have a nice cushion for the race and photo ops. Something on the order of 45-60 min depending on what corral you end up in. Are you submitting a POT or entering an estimated finish for the HM?

 

[michigandergirl]

Following along! I'll be running the Kessel Run challenge as well. Good luck with your training!

 

[JennysSeven]

I'd say you definitely have a nice cushion for the race and photo ops. Something on the order of 45-60 min depending on what corral you end up in. Are you submitting a POT or entering an estimated finish for the HM?

I'd be very happy with a 45-60 minute cushion. I don't anticipate having a POT to submit though. We're doing a 10-mile New Years race on Dec. 30th, mostly so my son can submit a POT. I'd rather do a 10k, but the only local one before the cut-off is Thanksgiving Day and we'll be out of town. Since I haven't run 10 miles at one time at all yet, I can't imagine getting a valid time less than 2 months from now at that distance so I'll most likely be starting Star Wars in one of those back corrals. It appears that they have a few that don't need POT, since the break downs are in 15-minute increments. Or do they put everyone in the 2:45-3:00, 3:00-3:15, and 3:15-3:30 in the same corral and do waves?

When I registered for Star Wars back in August, I put in an estimated time. I think I might have entered 3:00-3:15, since at the time anything I put would have pretty much been a total guess anyway.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Since I haven't run 10 miles at one time at all yet, I can't imagine getting a valid time less than 2 months from now at that distance so I'll most likely be starting Star Wars in one of those back corrals.

I'd say it's possible if you wanted to give it a try as I estimate a 2:04 is within your current fitness estimate and plenty of time to make that time a reality.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/pot-proof-of-time-race-equivalency-cutoff-confirmed-times.3699036/

It appears that they have a few that don't need POT, since the break downs are in 15-minute increments. Or do they put everyone in the 2:45-3:00, 3:00-3:15, and 3:15-3:30 in the same corral and do waves?

When I registered for Star Wars back in August, I put in an estimated time. I think I might have entered 3:00-3:15, since at the time anything I put would have pretty much been a total guess anyway.

I'd say go ahead and change it to 2:45-3:00. It'll make a significant change as to the number of people who start ahead of you. Additionally, your current fitness completely supports that decision and you'd be starting near other people of similar pacing. They are very likely to place those three increments into three separate corrals. But people are getting wise to the non-POT system and more and more people are choosing the 2:45-3:00 bracket without actually having that as an estimated pace in reality.

 

[JennysSeven]

Week 7 Recap:

This week was crazy busy and cross-training was pretty much non-existent. I did do some light weights and stretching at home several days, and I did get my runs in, although today's was 3.1 miles instead of 4 miles.

Tuesday was 3 miles at 15:00 minutes per mile. It felt very easy after doing several longer runs at that pace over the past couple weeks.

Thursday was supposed to be 3 miles, but I set the treadmill for 45 minutes (which would work for my usual 15:00 m/m) but went ahead and set the pace at 4.5mph or 13:20 minutes per mile. I did the whole 45 minutes so I ended up around 3.38 miles before the cool down. That was definitely more challenging and I could tell I was working harder breathing, etc., but it felt like I could have continued if I needed to.

Today I had the 5K we've had on the schedule for awhile. Jordan had a scheduling conflict and couldn't run with me, but my 12-year-old son decided to try it with me. He finished in 29:15 and got a little trophy for being 3rd in his age range, yet he has never trained with us---the benefits of being a high-energy 12-year-old, I guess. LOL.

I did get my PR by almost 2 minutes, although I had hoped to be a little bit faster than I was. I finished in 37:58. My only other 5K was a 39:51 finish, so it's an improvement. But I had hoped I could come in under a 12:00 minute per mile pace. I did start out a little bit too fast, which probably contributed. My first mile was 11:22, then I slowed down from there. I'm really glad I ran today though, as it gives me a better idea of where I am and shows me that I have improved!

This week I'm really going to make a point of making sure I get in those 2 cross-training sessions. I think that extra consistency will help with improving endurance.

This week is week 8, which is:
Tuesday-5 mile run
Thursday-3 mile run + strength
Sat. or Sun.- 7 mile run

There should also be a 45-minute cross-training session and a 60-minute cross-training session. Probably either Monday and Wednesday or Wednesday and Friday.

 

[JennysSeven]

Mid-week check in...

This week is going well so far. 5-mile treadmill run on Tuesday, started at my usual 15:00 m/m and bumped it up to 14:17 for the last 1.5 miles. Yesterday I did my 45 minutes of cross-training, which ended up being on the stationary bike at the gym. Today will be 3 miles outside, and I'm going to try really hard to pace myself better since I always seem to run faster outside and then get tired, especially where it's uphill. I usually average somewhere between 12:45 and 13:00 outside, so I'm going to try to do more like 13:30 and see what that feels like and if I can keep it fairly consistent.

We adopted a 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy Monday night, who will hopefully be joining us on some of our runs. We'll have to "test" her on a shorter run first though--maybe our 1-mile loop around our street. Our previous adult shepherd could go for miles, but I have no idea how far a pup can be expected to jog...this is new territory for us! She loves her short walks so far though.

 

[disneygpa]

We adopted a 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy Monday night, who will hopefully be joining us on some of our runs. We'll have to "test" her on a shorter run first though--maybe our 1-mile loop around our street. Our previous adult shepherd could go for miles, but I have no idea how far a pup can be expected to jog...this is new territory for us! She loves her short walks so far though.

We have a 2 year old Shepherd and he does great for about 2 miles... Then I feel like I have to keep him motivated! I do love running with him though!

 

[JennysSeven]

I'm going to call today's run a success!

I didn't quite hit the pace or consistency that I wanted to, but I did go slower AND I did finish with no walking breaks, which I've never managed when going 3+ miles outside. Also, because we took the puppy we did the 1-mile loop 3 times instead of our usual 3-mile loop, so for the sake of comparing paces per mile, each mile is more or less identical in topography, etc.

First mile: 13:15 m/m
Second mile: 13:24 m/m
Third mile: 12:51 m/m (obviously I was looking forward to getting home quickly and plopping down in a chair, lol!)

I've read a lot of the training journals in here and seen this talked about, but I had no idea just how hard it is to run at a consistent pace! I'd watch my phone until I hit around 13:30, then try to keep up what that felt like, check again and find I was at 11-something. So then I'd slow down just a little, check several seconds later, and be at 16. Even though it didn't feel THAT different. I have a lot of work to do on consistency and figuring out what different paces feel like!

The puppy (her name is Leia--we're big Star Wars nerds around here--our boy was Jedi) did the loop twice with us, and then she and Jordan went back in the house while I did the 3rd loop. I got home and she was sprawled out in her crate asleep!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Are you using instantaneous pace on your device to determine those wide varying paces? I prefer lap pace instead. Instant pace sees large swings inherently because of how the GPS ping works on your device. But the wide swings are smoothed out over longer distances which is why I prefer looking at 0.5 mile to 1 mile splits for most "consistent pacing" checks. Even when I have near dead even blind splits, the instant pace on my watch is all over the place.