![]() “You didn’t pick your parents as well as they did,” says Janet Hamilton, CSCS, a registered clinical exercise physiologist and coach at RunningStrong, an Atlanta-based professional running coaching organization. Shouldn’t the hours I had put into running have made me faster by now? Why were other runners - even ones who’d just rolled off the couch - faster than me? But if that day’s run was any indication, I wouldn’t make it. I had 10 hours to run it - generous by 50K standards. The real reason I was obsessing over my pace as I lifted my tired legs back into the car: I’d signed up for a 50-kilometer run (about 31 miles) that was a month away. ![]() I’m a runner because I run, however long it takes me. Everyday annoyances (like vet appointments or work deadlines) just don’t seem as hard after I’ve spent an hour on my feet.Īnd I don’t let myself get down about my speed most of the time. It gives me a reason to get outside almost daily, even in the often-rainy Pacific Northwest winters. Why Some People Are Naturally Slower Runners Than Others But they’d be out of eyesight before I hit “record” on my smartwatch. Social runs often don’t list their paces, and what runners consider a “slow” pace can be anything from a 12-minute mile (a pace I reserve for my speediest pavement days) to an 8-minute mile (a woman can dream). Even on pavement, where the terrain lends itself to faster speeds, my easy pace is anywhere from a 13-minute to a 15-minute mile.īecause I’m slow, I run by myself. That’s a pace of more than 21 minutes a mile.ĭon’t get me wrong - I already knew I was a slow runner. Those 22 miles had taken almost eight hours. On the trail, there are roots, rocks, incline, decline, slippery rocks, dirt so soft it echoes, and banana slugs I don’t want to squish.īut when I got back to my car the day of my 22-mile journey, I felt dismayed as I looked at my watch. When I run on pavement, there’s just the steady thump of my feet on the ground. I like trail running for many reasons: I get to see many miles of terrain, I feel triumphant when passing a hiker, and obstacles are part of the experience. My reward was running the 11 miles back down the flats and descents. I then power-hiked uphill for 11 miles (gaining 4,700 feet). I started the day at 8 a.m., and I walked and jogged for 20 minutes to warm up. On my longest run this summer, I cruised for 22 miles on trails near my hometown outside Seattle.
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