The Fastest Slow Run Ever

We've all had runs that seem to d-r-a-g on forever despite how short of a distance we may have on the schedule.  I would hope you've also had runs that seem to fly by but aren't particularly fast paced.  Today was a rather slow run for me and it seemed like I hadn't even run half the distance I actually did. 

Maybe I fell asleep while running?

Hey, it could happen!

I met up with one of my trainees for our group run (not much of a 'group', I know!).  He had six miles on the schedule for the day.  We headed out in one direction to go three miles out, three miles back.  We chatted on and off throughout the run and before I knew it, we were back at the start.  An hour had gone by!

I wanted to see if I could push him just a bit further - and he felt good - so we headed out for one more mile.  Twelve minutes later, we were finished.  We did our cool down, stretched, chatted a bit, and he was off.  Seven miles was done and it still felt very early which was great because I wanted to get 12-15 miles in for the day.  I headed out in another direction to log another 5-8 miles. 

Now, my trainee runs at a slower pace that I normally do, which is perfectly fine, but when I switched back to my pace, the time and pavement flew by faster than I could have imagined!  Before I knew it, I was 2.5 miles in (my usual turn around point on this section of the trail), and I couldn't help but think I should get in a few more miles - it still felt pretty early!  I kept heading out until I hit the four mile mark and turned around.  At this point, I was starting to feel the pace.  I was 11 miles in for the day.  Despite that, I pushed on and finished off the last four miles in no time! 

I got back to the car and honestly, it felt like I had just run 5 miles.  Nope, 15! And talk about negative splitting!  I ran the first 7 miles in 1:16 (roughly 11:00/mile pace) and the last 8 in 58:00 (7:15/mile pace). 

I know what some of you are thinking...

"Wow, fifteen miles.  Awesome job!"  

But trust me when I say that even I feel like I'm a slacker for only doing 15 today.  

Why?  

Three of my friends are running ultras today!!  

Haha.  

They're rock stars that I will certainly be pulling training advice from for next summer!  

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Questions
1.  Have you had runs that felt abnormally fast or slow?

2.  What makes your run feel faster or slower?
Chatting with someone, great scenery to look at, and a new trail/path/route make my runs feel faster.  Feeling tired, rushed, or running the same route I've done a million times makes my runs feel slower.

3.  What are your plans for the weekend?
My dad is due to arrive in a half hour for a weekend visit.  No idea what we're gonna' do, but I always enjoy the family visits! 

Dream.  Believe.  Achieve.