Follow To Lead

Today I completed my first official organized half-marathon event, and I once again improved my pace and exceeded my own expectation. However, even though this was only 3.1 miles longer than the 10-mile run I completed two weeks ago, it seemed so much more difficult, even though my numbers don't say it seemed so. Anyways, I am developing and refining my strategy, and that includes finding someone that seems to set a good pace for me and simply following closely behind them, effectively drafting them. I do this by monitoring my heart rate and when it is steady and at a good and slightly-higher-than training tempo, I know I have found the right person to follow. I know that it works because I learned in the Soldier Field 10-miler that when I broke away from a person or smaller group, I noticed a slight increase in my heart-rate and it seemed to settle when I was following. I also believe following stabilizes my mechanics including my gait, stride length, and cadence. I want to take this opportunity to say "Thank You!" to those individuals that I do not know that put up with me tailing them. Yesterday in particular I chose to follow a female runner who was on a steady and challenging pace. From my observation, she was a seasoned runner. She had almost a clockwork pace without using a heart rate monitor or pacer and she didn't even listen to any music, which I don't think I could do without. I found her at about the 2 or 3 mile mark drafted her for a good 6-7 miles before I noticed my heart rate increasing and I was forced to slow slightly, allowing her to break away.

That said, I finished with a time of 1:33:23, giving me a pace of 7:08 per mile. My pace for the 10-mile was 7:19! So I have learned if I want to be a leader and continue to progress, reach my goals, and succeed, all I have to do is follow! This is the same thing I teach to my clients and team members. Think of a Lego set or furniture from Ikea, for example. You see what the finished product looks like, lets say the Lego castle on the box or a nice bookshelf in the Ikea showroom. You buy that end product, but what you get is a box of pieces. How do you know how to put it together properly? How do you get your pieces to fit properly to build the item that you bought? You follow the instructions, step by step, don't you? Same concept here. If you want to get fit and you purchase personal training or a home fitness system, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS! It really is that simple, but many people fail to do so. I assure you that if you can follow directions, you will learn to discipline yourself through activity, you will learn more about why you are doing what you need to, and you will build the "bookshelf" (body) that you want, and one day be able to lead others and help them do the same, if that is something you want to do. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Follow the link to check out my official race results!
http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=86855109&rsID=94777