Running too slow? (Read 1176 times)

I just got back into running a couple months ago, and to liven things up have been running with partners for 2-3 of my 5 runs per week.  However, the two girls I run with run a good bit slower than I usually run.  My typical runs are 7.5-8.5 min/mile, but I run 9-10.5 min/mile with them (right now, for ~14 of my 40 mpw).

I've figured that this is a good way to get some miles in with a low chance of getting injured, but want to make sure that it won't hurt my training goals (sub-3:00 marathon in October).  Do you see any issues with my approach?

As long as this does not compromise your core workouts or form the bulk of your easy miles -- which it does not appear to, at 14-of-40 -- I don't see any issues with it.

I used to do 4-8 mpw of 80-100 mpw at 10-12 min/mi pace with my wife, my pace is sub-7.  I never felt I was giving up anything...I'd typically add a few miles at my own pace on at the end too.

I've been focusing hard on my intervals/tempo runs/hill work, pushing those extremely hard. Then on my other runs I typically don't even bother timing myself -- easy means easy.

Net result: My interval splits are getting faster, my 5k/10K trials are MUCH faster, and I don't feel as burned out as I did last summer. So i think you might actually benefit from spending some time running with others at a considerably slower pace.