Ok, I’m ready to start working with my new coach.   I just got my first training plan and it’s time to get moving.   It’s only for 4 days as I will normally get my weekly plan on Tuesday’s.    It seems like when I get my new plans, I will then email her back with my weekly completed training plans with some notes.   She needs to know what I completed, how I felt, paces, and such.  Seems pretty reasonable and I am excited to get started.  I guess it’s a good thing that I bought the training journal to keep track of things too!

One thing that struck me though is that FOR NOW she wants me to slow down my training runs.   The next two runs are scheduled to be run at 11+.    What?   How can that be?    I think my average run lately is in the low 10’s or better.   To slow down is going to be hard.  It goes against the grain.   When I first started running, I was running an eleven minute mile.   Now to intentionally run this “slow” is just going to seem weird and it is actually going to be hard to do.   I will do it, but it won’t be without a lot of looking at my Garmin for help.   I know that I am going to have to pay close attention to my time and not just go with the flow.  Caolan has assured me that there is a method to her madness and to trust her.    As I said before, she knows what she is doing.   So I will trust her knowledge that I need to run at these slower paces more than my desire not to.

The one line in the email that really stood out to me was when she said,

“Most of us run too fast too often and not fast enough ever.“

She is so right and I will listen to her.

So I will check my ego at the door and run the pace or as close to the pace as she tells me to run.

The real challenge will be being brave enough to get in my swim suit tomorrow for a swim!

Wish me luck!

Have you ever slowed down to speed up?