posted on September 25, 2017
The UF Run Group has been going strong for a few weeks. We’re getting geared up for a longer run this coming Sunday: a 5.5 mile loop that will take us along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, over the 31st Street Bridge, through the Strip and Downtown, and back over the Roberto Clemente Bridge to the gym.
During our runs together, I think we’ve ALL learned a lot about what it is to run as a group. In no particular order, some observations:
We all need to sloooooow dooooown.
It’s so easy to speed out of the gate, especially if you’re on the competitive side and running with a bunch of other people. Since these group runs are supposed to be long, slow distance runs, we need to focus not just on the length, but on really keeping the pace slow. The key is to run at a conversational pace: a pace slow enough that you can fairly easily hold a conversation with your running partners.
But when it’s time to push the pace, your friends are there to help.
When I decide to throw some speed work into a run (like the Fartleks we did this past Sunday), you can always rely on your running friends to push you a little bit more than you’d push yourself.
Intervals are for everyone
Interval running comes in all forms. While we do some faster intervals, we also use run/walk intervals as part of our warm-up and to help introduce new runners to the fun of distance running.
And anyone can run with us
This past week we split our run into two pieces: a run/walk interval portion and a Fartlek interval portion. We had a new runner – one of our dedicated powerlifters who wants to increase his work capacity and improve his cardiovascular health. He’s a perfect fit for the run/walk intervals we start out with! We covered just over a mile that way this past week, and we’ll do a similar distance next week (with slightly less walking). Soon enough he’ll be out doing a full 5k on his own.
Crosstraining is important
I think we’d all agree that you can’t ONLY run. And we don’t! We did a combined run and kayak workout a few weeks ago and I think everyone can agree that was awesome.
And so is recovery!
Even better is when we go out to brunch after. That will have to happen after 5.5 this weekend.
There is no better way to make friends.
We’re a pretty tight group now, but we’re always looking to widen our group! Come out and run with us every Sunday at 10am.
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