My Journey With Weight Loss – Picking Up The Pace

Well, looks like fall has arrived. The past 2 mornings it has been pretty chilly while I was out training. Yesterday in particular as there was quite a wind down at the beach. It didn’t bother me on my walk as I was moving pretty quick but then when I took the dog out a bit later I realized I really should have worn gloves. Tomorrow we are expecting a big storm so I guess I will be wearing my new water resistant running jacket.

Yesterday I noticed I was maintaining a pretty good clip while I was doing an 8 km walk. What surprised me though was on the last leg on the way home when I started walking up the hill. The hill lasts for about 4 blocks but it is the 1st 2 blocks that are the most steep. I used to just plod up that hill and it was always tough. Now, it is long and strong strides up that hill without reducing my speed at all.

My coach suggested that I start working on my pace. I have been shaving off a few minutes each time I run so I know I am starting to move faster. Today I decided I wanted to push it further. I picked certain segments of my 8 km run and just picked up the pace for as long as I could. It actually was almost like interval training but instead of walking in between the intervals I would run slower. I got home and checked my Fitbit and I managed to shave 7 minutes off the run compared to my last 8 km. Wow, that is a big change in my pace. Tomorrow is a 10 km run and I am going to try to do the same. The problem is it has been quite a while since my coach had me do a 10 km so I am going to have to look pretty far back to see how much I have improved.

For the next week or so my posts may be a bit sporadic. I am heading off on vacation and while my coach has told me it is ok to take a week off and we will just rebuild, I am more concerned about eating a bit differently than I normally do. My goal is to get in at least 4 8 km runs which I think should keep my weight relatively in check. Not to worry, I will not beat myself up if I gain a few pounds, I will just work on shedding them when I get back.