Need for speed

Day 22 of 130
Ks covered: 140
Ks to go: 962
General mood: Pretty good
Running highlight:  Perfect happy long run. -4 degrees, no wind, Lots of sun, could even see into Lake Ontario.
Equipment status: Wore new orthotics to pick up daughter from school. No blisters yet.
Body status: A couple knee twinges here and there

Ask Crazy Haruki and he’ll tell you that “serious” runners don’t take walk breaks. “Serious” runners would rather shave a hyena with their teeth than be seen walking in a race. I, on the other hand, have been schooled in the Jeff Galloway ten and one theory since I started running long distances seven years ago. For me running right through would be like wearing someone else’s underpants — it does the job but somehow, it doesn’t feel quite right.

Now that I am following Crazy Haruki’s path I find myself in a quandary. Is it possible to keep my walk breaks and still shave 30 minutes from my PB?

My gut tells me no. But, running and drinking/eating at the same time is a deadly combo for me (do you know how hard it is to find a running belt that holds a Big Mac?).

Thanks to my running buddy Alison, who achieved a glorious 4:20 in her last marathon,  I’m trying a compromise; taking mini walk breaks every 4K to refuel. So far, my body has co-operated, in that I haven’t died between breaks…but my time isn’t budging.

Compared to where I used to be, I am now kicking butt in my shorter runs – consistently running 10K in under an hour, but it’s just not translating to the longer ones. Today, I ran 20K in 2:07:38. Last fall I ran the Toronto half in 2:13:37 – with ten and one walk breaks.

Obviously, I need to change something. My husband suggests I run out 10K in one direction, take a brief pause, turn around and run back. Voila – 20K in two tens – thus no problem with time. He also thinks if I run on the treadmill, jack up the speed and jump higher as the belt goes past, I can cover more distance in a shorter amount of time.

But there have to be better options: A spoiler fitted to the back of my running jacket? Racing stripes painted down my sides? A Honda Civic emblem around my neck (those cars always seem fastest on the highway)? A fancy mouthpiece (I’m talking golden mouth grill)? Red Bull in my Gatorade?

What do you think? Help, please!

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