Today I was to do 25K. My club had a 5K race planned, so I decided to do 20K first and then meet them for the 5K race. I get points just for showing up and doing it, even if I'm last (which I was, because it's handicapped), and besides, on the last 5K of a long one it helps to have some added motivation.
I had a lousy day today mentally. The only thing that saved my bacon was that my friend Sarah was doing 10 miles (16K) and met me at Liberty Park. With the extra back and forth I do while she is walking (she does Galloway run:walk 5:1) I was up to 17.2K by the time she left me. She really helped me get through a rough patch today. I just was NOT there mentally - did not want to push at all to try to achieve any sort of time. I'm not sure why, either. Physically I felt OK, and my foot was good, so I should have been happy, right? But I wasn't. I was in a MOOD. I think part of it is that I didn't sleep well and haven't slept enough for the past few nights. That starts to add up. Plus I'm definitely discouraged by my slow workouts since changing my technique. I know I should just be happy that I can work out again without pain, and I AM happy about that. And I do know that I will get faster again, but meanwhile, it's still discouraging. At one point during our workout, I actually almost burst into tears. Yeah, I should get more sleep!
I think my iron is probably still low, too. I am sure it's better than it was, but I have the feeling it's still not great. I have a doctor appointment Monday to get it checked again, so we'll know soon. Meanwhile, I will just do the best I can in workouts and try not to be too hard on myself.
Anyway, my 20K was in 2:12:29 for 6:37/km overall and ave HR 146 (see, I just couldn't push myself today...pathetic!). Garmin connect data here for the 20K.
Continuing on was interesting. I finished the 20K at 7:48 am and then met my friends (the race was to start at 8 am). It's a handicapped race, so I had to stand around for 14:32 after the first person started. The weather was relatively warm at 50F (10C) but it started drizzling right at the race start and I got pretty cold. Add that to stiffening up after standing around for about 30 min, and it was an UGLY start. Every leg muscle whined and complained for the first 200m or so, but after that I was fine. My left hip flexor was bothering me a bit on the 20K, and it bothered me more on the 5K. I knew I'd be slow, and figured I'd push just a little but not so much that I hurt anything. I thought maybe I'd do 32:30 or so for 6:30/km, but turns out I had a little more in me than that. I did the 5K in 31:25 with splits of 6:22, 6:11, 6:19, 6:16, and 6:14 and ave HR of 153 (Garmin connect data here). And yes, that meant I finished last in the race, since I was about 2 min slower than my handicap time! But I really didn't care that much at that point. It was just nice to hang out with my friends.
After the race, I took an ice bath. Not my favorite thing, but usually when I do more than 15 miles or so I take one, especially if I'm a bit sore like I am today. I have new admiration for my co-worker, who swims in Pineview Reservoir from May-September each year. She will swim (with a wetsuit) for 1.5-2 hr in it when the water temperature is as low as 59F. Today my ice bath was about 60F, and that was COLD! I was only in it for 15 min, so I can't imagine swimming in water that cold for as long as she does, even with a wetsuit.
My coach just called to see how I'm doing. We are reconsidering the 50K in light of my technique change. He thinks it may be unwise to do so many km with the new technique, because it's a lot for my body to handle. In addition, my most important races next year are 20K, and we don't want to jeopardize the training for those. I'll be disappointed if we have to postpone the 50K to next year, but if my coach decides it's the wise thing we'll do that, because he is always right. Seriously...he's really good, and if I didn't follow his advice I'd be a fool.
Edited to add: Total for the day = 25K in 2:43:54 for 6:33/km on average.
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