Running between the raindrops

This summer, normally too-hot Toronto has felt like Vancouver in November—either it’s raining, it’s going to rain, it’s just rained or there’s a risk of a severe thunderstorm (well, that part is more Toronto than West Coast). I’ve been wanting to bike to work, but haven’t managed it yet as I don’t really enjoy riding while being drenched. Luckily, the rain that was predicted for Tuesday held off until later in the evening, so we did get in our weekly training run—although the dirt paths had a lot of muddy spots.

We did 5K again, and I felt like pushing myself, so I managed to keep up with the group leader (who, admittedly, may have been modifying his pace a bit for me) for almost the first half of the run. But the pace turned out to be too much for me to sustain and after he coaxed me into a brief sprint, I fell behind, and the hill on the way back almost killed me—I had to walk about 2/3 of it. In the end, though, I made it back to the Nike Runner’s Lounge in just over 26 minutes—not too shabby, I think—in time to collapse on the mats with my water.

One of the biggest challenges I’m finding in pushing myself when running is figuring out what pace will work. Push yourself too hard in the beginning and you can’t sustain; too slow and you end the run without feeling like you’ve tried hard enough. I’m hoping to get in another run or two before next week’s training so I can play with my pacing. I think it’s a challenge everyone faces, no matter what your fitness level—gauging how hard to work. Does anyone have advice on this?

In other news, I’ve signed up for the Toronto Zoo 10K on October 18, and on October 5, we at Best Health are planning to Run (or walk) for the Cure—stay tuned to find out how you can participate, too.

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