Kelly and I were to do 12K today. We were both a bit sore from the hill workout yesterday, and I figured it was gonna hurt today. Surprisingly, we did well and felt pretty good for the most part. The first 8K was fine, and the last 4K we were tired, but we were able to keep our pace pretty well.
The weather was interesting - pretty warm at 56F (13C) but it was VERY windy. Seriously, it almost blew my hat off at one point! We good-naturedly whined about the wind, but it was refreshing to have the cool air, and when we turned around with our backs to the wind for the last 6K it was pretty warm.
We made up a new technique chant today: "Toes, Tuck, Tush!". Toes refers to rolling all the way through the toes to get a good toe-off and long stride behind the body. Tuck means to tuck your rear end under. Tush means to use your glutes when you walk. We kept reminding each other to have good technique.
Total time was 1:14:11 for 6:11/km for the 12km. Pretty good for being tired. My average HR was just 144.
Garmin data here.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
long time no post
Oh my! I haven't posted since Election Day (November 6th!). Major oversight on my part. Well, I knew it had been a while, but I just didn't make it a priority since I haven't been training hard.
However, I have been training.
Here's what I've been up to:
Wed Nov 7: 30 min elliptical
Thurs Nov 8: 5K with Kelly in 30:24 (easy), hip was hurting a bit so then did 30 min elliptical.
Fri Nov 9: 50 min elliptical
Sat Nov 10: 8K in the snow! We had easily 2-3 inches on the ground, and it was snowing hard, and it was tough to racewalk through, but Kelly and I did 8K in 52:27 for 6:32/km which I thought was pretty good for those conditions.
Sun Nov 11: 45 min elliptical
Mon Nov 12: overslept = rest day
Tues Nov 13: 3K warm-up; 5K fartlek in 30:07 (at Kelly's pace; I could have gone faster but she was having a rough day so I stayed with her since it was her workout not mine); 2K cool-down to home.
Wed Nov 14: 8K in 51:07 with Kelly; 6:23/km. We were both a bit sore from the 5K fartlek and so were slow and a bit tired.
Thurs Nov 15: 10K with 2x5' bursts with Kelly; 6:21/km. Again, we were a little tired. I'm glad I'm easing back into things with Kelly. It makes it easier.
Fri Nov 16: 40 min elliptical
Sat Nov 17: 8K hilly with Kelly in 50:46 (6:10/km!). We did the route for the Cold Turkey race on Thanksgiving (Thursday this coming week) and it's pretty hilly. We added an extra km uphill since the Cold Turkey race is only 6K, but we still finished pretty fast for an easy effort.
Today after the workout w/Kelly we had a club racewalking clinic at the Olympic Oval. It was great fun to teach racewalking and watch people improve. I'm editing video now, but not sure I will post it here due to privacy concerns for the club members.
Oh, I neglected to say that I've been doing weight training (especially glutes) 2x per week. I'm working on getting that up to 3x/week but so far I've been a bit flaky.
However, I have been training.
Here's what I've been up to:
Wed Nov 7: 30 min elliptical
Thurs Nov 8: 5K with Kelly in 30:24 (easy), hip was hurting a bit so then did 30 min elliptical.
Fri Nov 9: 50 min elliptical
Sat Nov 10: 8K in the snow! We had easily 2-3 inches on the ground, and it was snowing hard, and it was tough to racewalk through, but Kelly and I did 8K in 52:27 for 6:32/km which I thought was pretty good for those conditions.
Sun Nov 11: 45 min elliptical
Mon Nov 12: overslept = rest day
Tues Nov 13: 3K warm-up; 5K fartlek in 30:07 (at Kelly's pace; I could have gone faster but she was having a rough day so I stayed with her since it was her workout not mine); 2K cool-down to home.
Wed Nov 14: 8K in 51:07 with Kelly; 6:23/km. We were both a bit sore from the 5K fartlek and so were slow and a bit tired.
Thurs Nov 15: 10K with 2x5' bursts with Kelly; 6:21/km. Again, we were a little tired. I'm glad I'm easing back into things with Kelly. It makes it easier.
Fri Nov 16: 40 min elliptical
Sat Nov 17: 8K hilly with Kelly in 50:46 (6:10/km!). We did the route for the Cold Turkey race on Thanksgiving (Thursday this coming week) and it's pretty hilly. We added an extra km uphill since the Cold Turkey race is only 6K, but we still finished pretty fast for an easy effort.
Today after the workout w/Kelly we had a club racewalking clinic at the Olympic Oval. It was great fun to teach racewalking and watch people improve. I'm editing video now, but not sure I will post it here due to privacy concerns for the club members.
Oh, I neglected to say that I've been doing weight training (especially glutes) 2x per week. I'm working on getting that up to 3x/week but so far I've been a bit flaky.
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Since last Friday...
Saturday: Elliptical for 1 hr
Sunday: I enjoyed a nice FAST racewalk on a hilly route. That tested my left rear end a bit...it was a little sore afterward but not too bad. I'm still recovering but the fact that I could do hills and not have too much trouble is a great sign. Anyway, I was quite fast for such a hilly route - I could hardly believe it. Apparently I've gotten quite a boost in my fitness from the 30K; at least that's what my coach says. Seems reasonable anyway. I did 10.37km in 1:01:16 for 5:53/km with ave HR 143.
Garmin data here.
Monday: I did the elliptical for 45 min and lifted weights/did glute exercises. My rear end is fairly sore today so I guess I did a good job. My left glutes are notably much weaker than right glutes, especially on the one-legged getting-up-from-chair exercise. That will change as I keep working on them I'm sure. I did 3 different glute exercises, and also did bench press (Smith machine - 105 lb), tricep extensions (12 lb), and lat pull-downs (70 lb).
Today: I went to the track with my friend Kelly; Jim had given her a 5K fartlek so I tagged along. We did 3 laps to warm-up (she was a bit short on time), some dynamic drills, and then she started the fartlek. I wasn't going to do it, so I walked more slowly than her...but then I just wanted to chase her. I did 500m in 2:45 and then realized I had the auto lap on and stopped to turn it off; I walked around the other way to meet Kelly for her medium 500m after her first 1km hard. We did the medium 500m together, and then I let her go for the fast 500m. But when she got to the medium 500m after that, I chased her down and did the rest of the workout together. She wasn't going to let the "old lady" (me hahaha...she is 24) catch her, so we did the fast 500m in 2:35 (! smokin' !) and the next fast 500s in 2:40 and 2:39 (her)/2:37 (me). I had a great time and so did she. We are going to try to train together much more often, as it's so much better than training alone. We are both so happy to have someone our speed to train with, although pretty soon she will be faster than me. Oh, and Kelly did the fartlek in 28:05!!! Very speedy!
After the track today, I went to the gym and did 20 min on the elliptical and then it was time to take the kids to school, so off I went.
That about catches me up for now. Tomorrow morning: 6K with Kelly and then some more elliptical and some weights I think.
Sunday: I enjoyed a nice FAST racewalk on a hilly route. That tested my left rear end a bit...it was a little sore afterward but not too bad. I'm still recovering but the fact that I could do hills and not have too much trouble is a great sign. Anyway, I was quite fast for such a hilly route - I could hardly believe it. Apparently I've gotten quite a boost in my fitness from the 30K; at least that's what my coach says. Seems reasonable anyway. I did 10.37km in 1:01:16 for 5:53/km with ave HR 143.
Garmin data here.
Monday: I did the elliptical for 45 min and lifted weights/did glute exercises. My rear end is fairly sore today so I guess I did a good job. My left glutes are notably much weaker than right glutes, especially on the one-legged getting-up-from-chair exercise. That will change as I keep working on them I'm sure. I did 3 different glute exercises, and also did bench press (Smith machine - 105 lb), tricep extensions (12 lb), and lat pull-downs (70 lb).
Today: I went to the track with my friend Kelly; Jim had given her a 5K fartlek so I tagged along. We did 3 laps to warm-up (she was a bit short on time), some dynamic drills, and then she started the fartlek. I wasn't going to do it, so I walked more slowly than her...but then I just wanted to chase her. I did 500m in 2:45 and then realized I had the auto lap on and stopped to turn it off; I walked around the other way to meet Kelly for her medium 500m after her first 1km hard. We did the medium 500m together, and then I let her go for the fast 500m. But when she got to the medium 500m after that, I chased her down and did the rest of the workout together. She wasn't going to let the "old lady" (me hahaha...she is 24) catch her, so we did the fast 500m in 2:35 (! smokin' !) and the next fast 500s in 2:40 and 2:39 (her)/2:37 (me). I had a great time and so did she. We are going to try to train together much more often, as it's so much better than training alone. We are both so happy to have someone our speed to train with, although pretty soon she will be faster than me. Oh, and Kelly did the fartlek in 28:05!!! Very speedy!
After the track today, I went to the gym and did 20 min on the elliptical and then it was time to take the kids to school, so off I went.
That about catches me up for now. Tomorrow morning: 6K with Kelly and then some more elliptical and some weights I think.
Friday, November 02, 2012
crazy fast?
So I looked up my route from Thursday, when I did the 58:31 10K. I didn't believe my Garmin because that seemed too fast for my average HR of 148. However, when I retraced the route on the USATF Map It website, it came out exactly the same as my Garmin. Wow...I guess I really DID do a 58:31 10K? Crazy fast! And it was on gently rolling hills, too. I guess I haven't lost too much fitness, which is good.
8K
I got home late last night. I'm thankful for power, hot water, and internet access. I was very happy to see my family! As soon as I got in I went into the kids' rooms and hugged and kissed them. They didn't wake up, but I was just so happy to see them.
This morning I met my friend Kelly for a walk. We did a nice easy 8K together, and it was so nice to train with someone. We have the same coach, and we're going to ask Jim to write us programs that allow us to train together when possible. We are both thinking to do the 20K in California in March as our next race. I was going to skip that one and just do the 15K in May, but Jim is trying to talk me into it, and I will discuss it with Loren and see if we can make that work.
Anyway, the 8K this morning went well. My legs are a bit sore from the weight training on Wednesday, but not too bad. My left hamstring or whatever it is that is bugging me didn't give me much trouble today. I don't know why it's getting better, but hey, I'm not complaining! I noticed it, but it didn't really hurt much or slow me down.
Total time 49:16 for 6:10/km with ave HR just 141.
Garmin data here.
This morning I met my friend Kelly for a walk. We did a nice easy 8K together, and it was so nice to train with someone. We have the same coach, and we're going to ask Jim to write us programs that allow us to train together when possible. We are both thinking to do the 20K in California in March as our next race. I was going to skip that one and just do the 15K in May, but Jim is trying to talk me into it, and I will discuss it with Loren and see if we can make that work.
Anyway, the 8K this morning went well. My legs are a bit sore from the weight training on Wednesday, but not too bad. My left hamstring or whatever it is that is bugging me didn't give me much trouble today. I don't know why it's getting better, but hey, I'm not complaining! I noticed it, but it didn't really hurt much or slow me down.
Total time 49:16 for 6:10/km with ave HR just 141.
Garmin data here.
Honored!
The USATF Race Walking Sub-Committee announces the outstanding Masters Race Walkers for Age Groups:
Women:
35-39: None
40-44: Tammy Stevenson
45-49: Teresa Vaill
50-54: None
55-59: Debbie Topham
60-64: Marianne Martino
65-69: Panse Geer and Darlene Backlund
Men:
35-39: Omar Nash
40-44: Tim Seaman
45-49: Dave Swarts
50-54: Ray Sharp
55-59: Mark Green
60-64: Andrew Smith
65-69: Christoph Schmid
70-74: John Backlund
75-79: None
80-84: Max Green
Congratulations to all!
Note: To be considered athletes must have competed in at least two Masters Championships.
Women:
35-39: None
40-44: Tammy Stevenson
45-49: Teresa Vaill
50-54: None
55-59: Debbie Topham
60-64: Marianne Martino
65-69: Panse Geer and Darlene Backlund
Men:
35-39: Omar Nash
40-44: Tim Seaman
45-49: Dave Swarts
50-54: Ray Sharp
55-59: Mark Green
60-64: Andrew Smith
65-69: Christoph Schmid
70-74: John Backlund
75-79: None
80-84: Max Green
Congratulations to all!
Note: To be considered athletes must have competed in at least two Masters Championships.
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Interesting weekend...
It was an interesting weekend week in Pennsylvania. I went on Friday for my high school reunion (25 years!) Saturday night and for the 30K national racewalk held in New York on Sunday morning. I was scheduled to fly out Monday morning, but due to Hurricane Sandy my flight was cancelled. I rebooked for Wednesday but that flight was later cancelled. Finally I rebooked for today, and I'm now sitting in the airport ready to fly out. Wow.
The reunion was a lot of fun (photos here) - good friends and a good time catching up, plus a "Philly buffet" including my faves - cheesesteak, soft pretzels, and Tastykakes! I tried everything but didn't eat too much because of the race the next morning. Got to sleep around midnight and then was up at 5 am to drive to New York.
I got a bit lost in New Jersey but only lost about 20 min on the way to the race, and so I arrived 40 min before the race, which was plenty of time. You don't need to warm up much before a 30K! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my racewalking friends and saying hi before the race. I met Maria Michta, our 20K Olympian from this summer, and talked science with her (she's getting her Ph.D. in microbiology).
The race went surprisingly well. There are pictures here on Facebook - mostly of the men's 50K competitors and the 30K competitors who finished after me, but there are some shots of the awards too. Basically, I started out 95% sure I wouldn't finish, and about 12K into the race I was sure I wouldn't finish. I decided to get to 15K and quit. I quite literally had a "pain in the butt". But at 15K, it felt a bit better and so I kept going. It never really got bad again until I had less than 5K to go, and then I knew I would finish no matter what! It wasn't horrible, though - I wasn't limping like I was on the track a few weeks ago. I didn't push hard (for obvious reasons) and my time was a bit slow, but I FINISHED!!!!!!!! I was ecstatic to finish, and it was SO FUN to be out there racing with my friends. Yeah...time was really slow, at 3:14:03, but oddly enough I didn't care.
The funny thing is that my pain in the butt is getting better, despite the race. The day after the race I took a rest day because of the hurricane (impossible to exercise!) - rain, wind, etc. We got 75mph wind gusts - it was HOWLING out there and I was glad to be inside (my friend's parents took us in because we didn't want to have to pay for hotel for extra days; so we got to couch surf!). On Tuesday morning it was much better so I went for an easy 5K walk, and it only took about 31 min! My hamstrings were quite sore, and I have a sore toe (blisters) but otherwise it was great. On Wednesday, after almost 48 hr w/o power, my friend's mom took me to the gym, which had power! I got in an hour on the elliptical, lifted weights and did my glute exercises, and got a HOT shower :). Yay! Today we still did not have power. It was pretty cold in the house (probably 55F, 12C) but we felt lucky that we had no trees in the roof and no flooding.
I went for a walk this morning and walked a really fast 10K. Not sure how I did that - maybe the Garmin was off? I walked 58:31 and felt great. I went by my old house though, and there was a tree down and serious roof damage. It was a very large old tree and fell right into the master bath on the east side of the house. I took lots of pictures and talked with the son of the "new" owners (who most likely bought the house from my parents back in 1987, he thought). The son lives in my old room, which I thought was pretty funny. Anyway, he said this was the 3rd tree to fall on the house since his parents had bought it - one fell on the sun porch and damaged the whole front of the house, and one fell from the back yard and I'm guessing damaged the patio and room my brother used for a bedroom, as that has been removed from the house and replaced by just a flat patio. Here are the pictures I took.
I really enjoyed my walk - loved walking in the old neighborhood and seeing how it looks now - pretty similar, actually. I walked where my mom used to run back in the 1980s, and where I tried to run with her so long ago (and gave up because it was too hard!).
Anyway, I've got a plane to catch so must go!
The reunion was a lot of fun (photos here) - good friends and a good time catching up, plus a "Philly buffet" including my faves - cheesesteak, soft pretzels, and Tastykakes! I tried everything but didn't eat too much because of the race the next morning. Got to sleep around midnight and then was up at 5 am to drive to New York.
I got a bit lost in New Jersey but only lost about 20 min on the way to the race, and so I arrived 40 min before the race, which was plenty of time. You don't need to warm up much before a 30K! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my racewalking friends and saying hi before the race. I met Maria Michta, our 20K Olympian from this summer, and talked science with her (she's getting her Ph.D. in microbiology).
The race went surprisingly well. There are pictures here on Facebook - mostly of the men's 50K competitors and the 30K competitors who finished after me, but there are some shots of the awards too. Basically, I started out 95% sure I wouldn't finish, and about 12K into the race I was sure I wouldn't finish. I decided to get to 15K and quit. I quite literally had a "pain in the butt". But at 15K, it felt a bit better and so I kept going. It never really got bad again until I had less than 5K to go, and then I knew I would finish no matter what! It wasn't horrible, though - I wasn't limping like I was on the track a few weeks ago. I didn't push hard (for obvious reasons) and my time was a bit slow, but I FINISHED!!!!!!!! I was ecstatic to finish, and it was SO FUN to be out there racing with my friends. Yeah...time was really slow, at 3:14:03, but oddly enough I didn't care.
The funny thing is that my pain in the butt is getting better, despite the race. The day after the race I took a rest day because of the hurricane (impossible to exercise!) - rain, wind, etc. We got 75mph wind gusts - it was HOWLING out there and I was glad to be inside (my friend's parents took us in because we didn't want to have to pay for hotel for extra days; so we got to couch surf!). On Tuesday morning it was much better so I went for an easy 5K walk, and it only took about 31 min! My hamstrings were quite sore, and I have a sore toe (blisters) but otherwise it was great. On Wednesday, after almost 48 hr w/o power, my friend's mom took me to the gym, which had power! I got in an hour on the elliptical, lifted weights and did my glute exercises, and got a HOT shower :). Yay! Today we still did not have power. It was pretty cold in the house (probably 55F, 12C) but we felt lucky that we had no trees in the roof and no flooding.
I went for a walk this morning and walked a really fast 10K. Not sure how I did that - maybe the Garmin was off? I walked 58:31 and felt great. I went by my old house though, and there was a tree down and serious roof damage. It was a very large old tree and fell right into the master bath on the east side of the house. I took lots of pictures and talked with the son of the "new" owners (who most likely bought the house from my parents back in 1987, he thought). The son lives in my old room, which I thought was pretty funny. Anyway, he said this was the 3rd tree to fall on the house since his parents had bought it - one fell on the sun porch and damaged the whole front of the house, and one fell from the back yard and I'm guessing damaged the patio and room my brother used for a bedroom, as that has been removed from the house and replaced by just a flat patio. Here are the pictures I took.
I really enjoyed my walk - loved walking in the old neighborhood and seeing how it looks now - pretty similar, actually. I walked where my mom used to run back in the 1980s, and where I tried to run with her so long ago (and gave up because it was too hard!).
Anyway, I've got a plane to catch so must go!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
more cross-training
Yesterday I did the elliptical for 45 minutes. Today, I was in the mood for a change, so I took a spinning class. I wanted to get some interval cardio work in, as I haven't been able to do any track workouts. I figured it couldn't hurt and might help.
As usual, spinning was tough. I mean, OK, it's only as tough as you make it, but I make it tough. When the instructor says add resistance, I add, and I don't start easy. Interestingly, I find that when spinning my perceived exertion is much higher for the same heart rate than when I'm walking. Today, when my HR was 160, I felt I was really dying! When I'm walking that feels hard but not that hard. I'd say that if I add about 10 to what my HR is spinning then it feels the same as walking. 160 spinning feels like 170 walking.
So it was a good hard workout. I was dripping with sweat when I was done, and it didn't hurt my hamstring/butt/whatever it is that is hurting.
As usual, spinning was tough. I mean, OK, it's only as tough as you make it, but I make it tough. When the instructor says add resistance, I add, and I don't start easy. Interestingly, I find that when spinning my perceived exertion is much higher for the same heart rate than when I'm walking. Today, when my HR was 160, I felt I was really dying! When I'm walking that feels hard but not that hard. I'd say that if I add about 10 to what my HR is spinning then it feels the same as walking. 160 spinning feels like 170 walking.
So it was a good hard workout. I was dripping with sweat when I was done, and it didn't hurt my hamstring/butt/whatever it is that is hurting.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
catching up again
Been a while since I blogged. I have been cross-training pretty much every day; usually I do the elliptical for 45-50 minutes, and a few days I've lifted weights too.
Yesterday I decided to walk 10K, as my left hip has been feeling better. I've confused my coach by using the term hip, when really, it's the left side of my backside. OK, for lack of a better word (sorry mom...I know, I know), it's my left butt-cheek. I am 95% sure it's my hamstring at the top where it attaches, and coach thinks now that we've had time to chat on Facebook a bit that it is probably a bit of tendonitis there. That makes perfect sense to me based on where it hurts, when it hurts (only when racewalking, and only after quite a while), and when it doesn't hurt (when sitting, it doesn't ache - hence not piriformis).
Anyway. I did great for the 10K yesterday - was super fast, and felt quite good until about 9K (with a fair amount of stretching along the way just as a precaution) when my glutes tired and then the hamstring started to hurt. That's lots better than last weekend when it hurt a lot sooner and it really slowed me down. Yesterday I was fast, finishing 10K in 60:51 with ave HR 143. Not bad at all if I could have kept going; it wouldn't have held for 30K yesterday though.
However, coach thinks it's possible that with another week I could possibly make it through 30K. He's trying to talk me into at least starting the race and just getting a DNF if I can't make it. I'm thinking about it.
Today I walked about 5.5K of casual walking along the Jordan River Parkway with my friend Nancy, who was doing the second of two back-to-back marathons. Yup, she did one yesterday and one today. Wow! Our friend Diane was doing the second race along with Nancy. I just walked with them for a short while; they were taking it nice and slow for obvious reasons, and that was perfect for me. My leg was fine - it got a little tight maybe but didn't hurt. I could tell it was slightly tired but no pain whatsoever, so that was good.
After that I headed to church and after church I had to work for about 20-30 min in the lab and then went to the gym to do the elliptical for 30 min before going to my parents' house to cook and clean for them. Whew. Busy day. Back at home now and it's bedtime! Elliptical and some weights beckon in the morning.
Yesterday I decided to walk 10K, as my left hip has been feeling better. I've confused my coach by using the term hip, when really, it's the left side of my backside. OK, for lack of a better word (sorry mom...I know, I know), it's my left butt-cheek. I am 95% sure it's my hamstring at the top where it attaches, and coach thinks now that we've had time to chat on Facebook a bit that it is probably a bit of tendonitis there. That makes perfect sense to me based on where it hurts, when it hurts (only when racewalking, and only after quite a while), and when it doesn't hurt (when sitting, it doesn't ache - hence not piriformis).
Anyway. I did great for the 10K yesterday - was super fast, and felt quite good until about 9K (with a fair amount of stretching along the way just as a precaution) when my glutes tired and then the hamstring started to hurt. That's lots better than last weekend when it hurt a lot sooner and it really slowed me down. Yesterday I was fast, finishing 10K in 60:51 with ave HR 143. Not bad at all if I could have kept going; it wouldn't have held for 30K yesterday though.
However, coach thinks it's possible that with another week I could possibly make it through 30K. He's trying to talk me into at least starting the race and just getting a DNF if I can't make it. I'm thinking about it.
Today I walked about 5.5K of casual walking along the Jordan River Parkway with my friend Nancy, who was doing the second of two back-to-back marathons. Yup, she did one yesterday and one today. Wow! Our friend Diane was doing the second race along with Nancy. I just walked with them for a short while; they were taking it nice and slow for obvious reasons, and that was perfect for me. My leg was fine - it got a little tight maybe but didn't hurt. I could tell it was slightly tired but no pain whatsoever, so that was good.
After that I headed to church and after church I had to work for about 20-30 min in the lab and then went to the gym to do the elliptical for 30 min before going to my parents' house to cook and clean for them. Whew. Busy day. Back at home now and it's bedtime! Elliptical and some weights beckon in the morning.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
10K
I cross-trained yesterday and Friday, and tried to rest my hip. I was hoping that I'd do well today; Jim had told me to do 20K today if possible.
It was nice out: 46F (8C) and calm and clear. I got started and felt decent for about 5K. However, that didn't last long. I did the first 5K in 31:10 or so, but then my hip really started to hurt and while I was able to walk, I was much slower and knew I'd have to stop at 10K (I was doing 5K loops). I was very disappointed, but not terribly surprised. I made it to 10K in a slow 1:04 for 6:20/km with ave HR just 139 because of how slowly I had to go and how much I stopped to stretch.
I think I'm done for the season. I could keep pushing, but it doesn't seem wise at this time. I'm not 100% for sure writing the race off, but unless my hip is a lot better very soon, it's clear that I won't be able to do it.
Amazingly, I feel at peace about this. It just seems right to stop pushing. I have to rest anyway, because I obviously can't train like this, and so I'll cross-train this week and maybe try another walk after 5-6 days. However, I am pretty sure that I'll be volunteering at the race instead of racing.
***
In other news, my coach's brother died early this morning. I'm very sad for him and for his parents especially. His brother had a degenerative neurological disorder and they had known for a while that he was not going to make it, but that doesn't make it any easier for the family. I wish I lived closer so that I could do more for them. At the very least I can keep them in my thoughts and prayers.
***
My mom continues to improve after breaking her tibia badly two weeks ago. She is feeling better now and can get around the house OK with her walker. She won't be able to drive or to walk for 5 more weeks, but I'm helping out around the house and lots of friends have brought meals to my parents, so they are managing OK. It's not been easy for them, but they are getting by.
***
All of this puts racewalking more in perspective. It's one race, and if I can't do it, so what? No big deal. I'm still healthy and in good shape, and I can train more next year. There's always another race :).
It was nice out: 46F (8C) and calm and clear. I got started and felt decent for about 5K. However, that didn't last long. I did the first 5K in 31:10 or so, but then my hip really started to hurt and while I was able to walk, I was much slower and knew I'd have to stop at 10K (I was doing 5K loops). I was very disappointed, but not terribly surprised. I made it to 10K in a slow 1:04 for 6:20/km with ave HR just 139 because of how slowly I had to go and how much I stopped to stretch.
I think I'm done for the season. I could keep pushing, but it doesn't seem wise at this time. I'm not 100% for sure writing the race off, but unless my hip is a lot better very soon, it's clear that I won't be able to do it.
Amazingly, I feel at peace about this. It just seems right to stop pushing. I have to rest anyway, because I obviously can't train like this, and so I'll cross-train this week and maybe try another walk after 5-6 days. However, I am pretty sure that I'll be volunteering at the race instead of racing.
***
In other news, my coach's brother died early this morning. I'm very sad for him and for his parents especially. His brother had a degenerative neurological disorder and they had known for a while that he was not going to make it, but that doesn't make it any easier for the family. I wish I lived closer so that I could do more for them. At the very least I can keep them in my thoughts and prayers.
***
My mom continues to improve after breaking her tibia badly two weeks ago. She is feeling better now and can get around the house OK with her walker. She won't be able to drive or to walk for 5 more weeks, but I'm helping out around the house and lots of friends have brought meals to my parents, so they are managing OK. It's not been easy for them, but they are getting by.
***
All of this puts racewalking more in perspective. It's one race, and if I can't do it, so what? No big deal. I'm still healthy and in good shape, and I can train more next year. There's always another race :).
Thursday, October 11, 2012
muscle spasm
Yesterday I did cross-training (elliptical) to try and recover from Tuesday's disastrous 15K. I honestly felt pretty good by this morning when I arrived at the track. It was very dark at 5:45 am, but it was pretty warm at 55F (about 12C) and I warmed up well. My left glutes were definitely tired from Tuesday (I probably shouldn't have done the last 3k of that workout), but I figured I'd be all right. And I was...for a while.
I was to do 3x2k and 4x500m with 2' rest. I started on the first 2k, and felt decent, completing it in 11:01 (I thought it was 10:59 when I talked to my coach, but it was actually 11:01) feeling pretty strong and knowing I'd have enough for the rest of the workout. I took my 2 min rest and stretched my left leg because it felt stiff. Guess what? It was really stiff and sore, as I found out when I started the next 2k. I made it 500m in 2:46 before it hurt quite a bit and I had to stop and stretch again. I thought I'd do another 500m and see if it loosened up at all. It didn't. After a slow 2:52 500m, it got worse, and I was almost limping, so I called it quits reluctantly.
Coach thinks it's my piriformis. It probably is; hard for me to tell for sure. I went to the gym and did the foam roller for a bit, and did the elliptical for a little to loosen it up, which helped somewhat.
I texted my coach, and because of the time difference, he was asleep (6:30 am here = 11:30pm in Melbourne these days). He did call me as soon as he woke up, and we talked for a while. This race could really go one of two ways for me: I'm in good shape, and when I'm fresh I've had fast workouts. However, I've been really sore and am not quite recovered from the 40K. If I recover by then, I could still have a really fast race. But if not, the last 10K of the 30K could be very ugly. And it could go either way - no one really knows what will happen. Jim still thinks I should do the race, and I am inclined to do it since I've done most of the training, and I was going to travel anyway for my HS reunion. But part of me is very afraid...
So, because of all this, I've earned myself a few more days of cross-training, followed by 20K on Sunday instead of our planned 25K on Saturday. Bummer. I really wanted to do 25K before the race. Jim says that the training I had this summer will carry me through the distance, as long as I'm recovered enough. He's usually right, so here's hoping.
Garmin data here.
I was to do 3x2k and 4x500m with 2' rest. I started on the first 2k, and felt decent, completing it in 11:01 (I thought it was 10:59 when I talked to my coach, but it was actually 11:01) feeling pretty strong and knowing I'd have enough for the rest of the workout. I took my 2 min rest and stretched my left leg because it felt stiff. Guess what? It was really stiff and sore, as I found out when I started the next 2k. I made it 500m in 2:46 before it hurt quite a bit and I had to stop and stretch again. I thought I'd do another 500m and see if it loosened up at all. It didn't. After a slow 2:52 500m, it got worse, and I was almost limping, so I called it quits reluctantly.
Coach thinks it's my piriformis. It probably is; hard for me to tell for sure. I went to the gym and did the foam roller for a bit, and did the elliptical for a little to loosen it up, which helped somewhat.
I texted my coach, and because of the time difference, he was asleep (6:30 am here = 11:30pm in Melbourne these days). He did call me as soon as he woke up, and we talked for a while. This race could really go one of two ways for me: I'm in good shape, and when I'm fresh I've had fast workouts. However, I've been really sore and am not quite recovered from the 40K. If I recover by then, I could still have a really fast race. But if not, the last 10K of the 30K could be very ugly. And it could go either way - no one really knows what will happen. Jim still thinks I should do the race, and I am inclined to do it since I've done most of the training, and I was going to travel anyway for my HS reunion. But part of me is very afraid...
So, because of all this, I've earned myself a few more days of cross-training, followed by 20K on Sunday instead of our planned 25K on Saturday. Bummer. I really wanted to do 25K before the race. Jim says that the training I had this summer will carry me through the distance, as long as I'm recovered enough. He's usually right, so here's hoping.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
15K slog
Ouch.
This hurt.
A lot.
The weather was perfect (46F, 8C) but my legs were not. They were sore from yesterday, especially my left glutes.
I made it to 10K in an OK time despite my heavy and sore legs, even 13K not so bad, but the last 2K my legs totally gave up. Seriously. It was like they were dead. I could barely racewalk.
Mentally, this whole workout was a huge struggle. I wanted to quit. But I only have one more week of really hard training leading up to the 30K, and I've put in too much now to quit. If my 25th high school reunion wasn't the same weekend as the 30K, though, I probably would bail on the 30K now. I just don't see this ending well. I should trust my coach, though. He's almost always right about everything and he does see it ending well. I'm tired today and not thinking clearly so probably should not think so much :).
Total time: 1:35:04 for 6:20/k with ave HR 145. 5K splits: 30:36, 31:34, 32:54 (!).
Garmin data here.
This hurt.
A lot.
The weather was perfect (46F, 8C) but my legs were not. They were sore from yesterday, especially my left glutes.
I made it to 10K in an OK time despite my heavy and sore legs, even 13K not so bad, but the last 2K my legs totally gave up. Seriously. It was like they were dead. I could barely racewalk.
Mentally, this whole workout was a huge struggle. I wanted to quit. But I only have one more week of really hard training leading up to the 30K, and I've put in too much now to quit. If my 25th high school reunion wasn't the same weekend as the 30K, though, I probably would bail on the 30K now. I just don't see this ending well. I should trust my coach, though. He's almost always right about everything and he does see it ending well. I'm tired today and not thinking clearly so probably should not think so much :).
Total time: 1:35:04 for 6:20/k with ave HR 145. 5K splits: 30:36, 31:34, 32:54 (!).
Garmin data here.
Monday, October 08, 2012
10k fartlek
Yesterday was a much-needed rest day. I was sore from my 20K, and it was good to rest from exercising. However, I did go over to my parents' house and clean and cook for them, since my mom is still pretty incapacitated from her hiking adventure.
***
Today I was still somewhat sore when I woke up, and I had a 10K fartlek to do. Well, no getting around that one. It was chilly outside but not too bad; 41F (5C) and calm and clear. I warmed up for 1600m with strides (9:35) plus did dynamic stretching. Then I got going on the fartlek. I felt great for the first 1km and the first 500m recovery and then I started to feel pretty lousy. My times weren't great - most of the fast 500s were 2:50-2:51 and after the first two, the recoveries were slow too - 3:04, 3:05, even 3:08 :(. Still, they weren't terrible times, and were far from the slowest I've done. My legs just felt tired today - by 5km the analogy that came to mind was that they felt like hamburger. I'm proud that I still worked it really hard and gave it my all and finished strong. I did actually feel a little better by the end - I didn't have that completely trashed feeling and my last 500 was controlled and strong, if not fast.
My legs are really tired now, though...and I have 15km tomorrow. Suck it up, buttercup!
Total time 58:43 (hey, that was my PR for a while...so it's not like it was slow - just slower than I'd like right now) and average HR 159. HR lower than usual on this workout, as you'd expect from a fit person whose legs are sore.
Garmin data here.
***
Today I was still somewhat sore when I woke up, and I had a 10K fartlek to do. Well, no getting around that one. It was chilly outside but not too bad; 41F (5C) and calm and clear. I warmed up for 1600m with strides (9:35) plus did dynamic stretching. Then I got going on the fartlek. I felt great for the first 1km and the first 500m recovery and then I started to feel pretty lousy. My times weren't great - most of the fast 500s were 2:50-2:51 and after the first two, the recoveries were slow too - 3:04, 3:05, even 3:08 :(. Still, they weren't terrible times, and were far from the slowest I've done. My legs just felt tired today - by 5km the analogy that came to mind was that they felt like hamburger. I'm proud that I still worked it really hard and gave it my all and finished strong. I did actually feel a little better by the end - I didn't have that completely trashed feeling and my last 500 was controlled and strong, if not fast.
My legs are really tired now, though...and I have 15km tomorrow. Suck it up, buttercup!
Total time 58:43 (hey, that was my PR for a while...so it's not like it was slow - just slower than I'd like right now) and average HR 159. HR lower than usual on this workout, as you'd expect from a fit person whose legs are sore.
Garmin data here.
Saturday, October 06, 2012
20K
This one was better than I thought it might be. My legs were pretty darn sore yesterday, and were still sore this morning when I woke up, though a little better than yesterday. I thought this might be disastrous, but it went OK.
The weather was chilly but lovely: calm, clear, and 45F (7C) to start and 55F (13C) when I was done. I wore capris and a long-sleeved shirt but wished I'd worn shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, because the sun was warm. It was a gorgeous day, though!
I felt very good to start, and was surprised at how fast I was going for an easy effort. I was concerned that I went out too fast, but it IS a slight downhill, and I really did feel I took it easy. I didn't slow too much later, so I think it was OK. I felt a bit tired around 8K or so, but then perked right up and felt my technique really kicking in. I don't know how else to explain it, but I just felt like it was suddenly more correct and more fluid. It was great! I felt pretty good until 17K and then the wheels fell off a bit, and I was pretty tired on the last 3K, which was a slight uphill. My 5K splits weren't bad at all though: 29:41, 31:17, 30:50, and 31:41. Total time was 2:03:28 for 6:10/km with ave HR 148.
My hip was mostly OK; I did have to stop and stretch a lot but that was more for my glutes and hamstrings than for my hip, for which I was thankful.
All in all, a pretty good workout. Whew. Only 3 weeks until the 30K - it's coming up so fast. I'm not sure I'll be as ready as I want to be, but it's not because I didn't try.
Garmin data here.
The weather was chilly but lovely: calm, clear, and 45F (7C) to start and 55F (13C) when I was done. I wore capris and a long-sleeved shirt but wished I'd worn shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, because the sun was warm. It was a gorgeous day, though!
I felt very good to start, and was surprised at how fast I was going for an easy effort. I was concerned that I went out too fast, but it IS a slight downhill, and I really did feel I took it easy. I didn't slow too much later, so I think it was OK. I felt a bit tired around 8K or so, but then perked right up and felt my technique really kicking in. I don't know how else to explain it, but I just felt like it was suddenly more correct and more fluid. It was great! I felt pretty good until 17K and then the wheels fell off a bit, and I was pretty tired on the last 3K, which was a slight uphill. My 5K splits weren't bad at all though: 29:41, 31:17, 30:50, and 31:41. Total time was 2:03:28 for 6:10/km with ave HR 148.
My hip was mostly OK; I did have to stop and stretch a lot but that was more for my glutes and hamstrings than for my hip, for which I was thankful.
All in all, a pretty good workout. Whew. Only 3 weeks until the 30K - it's coming up so fast. I'm not sure I'll be as ready as I want to be, but it's not because I didn't try.
Garmin data here.
Friday, October 05, 2012
10K w/2x5' @20K pace
I was hoping I wouldn't be sore after yesterday's workout, but I was. By last night I was stiff and a bit achy in my glutes. This morning, my first few steps were accompanied by "Ow ow ow ow" as I worked out the soreness.
We are having a cool snap and fall is definitely in the air. It was 43F (6C) this morning and calm and clear. Definitely chilly - tights, long-sleeved shirt, and gloves were in order, but once those were on it was quite comfortable outside.
I felt OK for the first 6K or so. I did my first 5 minute burst at 20K pace starting at 2.5k, and felt reasonably fast, doing 500m in 2:49 without working too terribly hard. But after 6K all bets were off. My second burst felt much harder and my 500m time was only 2:58. My legs hurt a lot from there to the end of the 10K. I slowed down a lot, too, but was still almost a minute faster than last week, which is good I guess.
I hope my legs feel better quickly. I really need to do 20K tomorrow.
Total: 1:01:56 for 6:12/km with ave HR 145.
Garmin data here.
We are having a cool snap and fall is definitely in the air. It was 43F (6C) this morning and calm and clear. Definitely chilly - tights, long-sleeved shirt, and gloves were in order, but once those were on it was quite comfortable outside.
I felt OK for the first 6K or so. I did my first 5 minute burst at 20K pace starting at 2.5k, and felt reasonably fast, doing 500m in 2:49 without working too terribly hard. But after 6K all bets were off. My second burst felt much harder and my 500m time was only 2:58. My legs hurt a lot from there to the end of the 10K. I slowed down a lot, too, but was still almost a minute faster than last week, which is good I guess.
I hope my legs feel better quickly. I really need to do 20K tomorrow.
Total: 1:01:56 for 6:12/km with ave HR 145.
Garmin data here.
Thursday, October 04, 2012
3x2k, 4x500
I was quite apprehensive about this workout. Yesterday I felt fairly rotten/tired from the second cold I've been battling. Runny nose, sore throat, and fatigue were dogging me. I went to the gym and did 30 min on the elliptical, hoping it would help, but it really didn't make me feel better; if anything I felt worse and wished I hadn't done it (one of those very rare cases where a workout doesn't make you feel better). At least I didn't have the 24-hr stomach flu like my boss, who had to go home sick yesterday - and he almost NEVER goes home sick unless he's half-dead, so you know that one was bad.
I woke up feeling pretty good this morning, though. I felt well-rested from the night's sleep, and had just a bit of a runny nose and that was it. The weather was lovely - 48F (9C) at home (though the car thermometer said 44F at the track), calm, and clear. I wore gloves and a long-sleeved shirt for the first time this season, though I did ditch the gloves after a couple 2k repeats. It was really dark, too, and stayed dark until I was almost done.
I warmed up for 1600m in about 9:30 and felt good on the warm-up. I did my dynamic stretching and then started the workout. The first 2K didn't feel too hard, and I was fast! Under 11 min, with 10:59.5! "Good," I thought. Now to keep that pace. I had 2 min rest between all the intervals today, and after my rest started again. I still felt good, to my surprise, and pulled off a 10:58.5. I was feeling pretty strong, and did the third 2k in 10:57.5. I worked that last one pretty hard, but I felt strong and good. Now for my 500s. I kept waiting for the workout to fall apart, but it didn't happen. All summer that's been the case because of the heat, but today it was just so nice and cool! My 500s were no problem. Yes, I did work them hard, but they were really fast and I felt good. I did them in 2:36.9, 2:35.8, 2:35.4, and 2:34.9.
What a relief! A good workout, finally. Now I can begin to feel a little more excited about the 30k. Hopefully this workout didn't take too much out of me and I'll be up for a good 20k on Saturday. I expect it will be fine.
Garmin data here.
I woke up feeling pretty good this morning, though. I felt well-rested from the night's sleep, and had just a bit of a runny nose and that was it. The weather was lovely - 48F (9C) at home (though the car thermometer said 44F at the track), calm, and clear. I wore gloves and a long-sleeved shirt for the first time this season, though I did ditch the gloves after a couple 2k repeats. It was really dark, too, and stayed dark until I was almost done.
I warmed up for 1600m in about 9:30 and felt good on the warm-up. I did my dynamic stretching and then started the workout. The first 2K didn't feel too hard, and I was fast! Under 11 min, with 10:59.5! "Good," I thought. Now to keep that pace. I had 2 min rest between all the intervals today, and after my rest started again. I still felt good, to my surprise, and pulled off a 10:58.5. I was feeling pretty strong, and did the third 2k in 10:57.5. I worked that last one pretty hard, but I felt strong and good. Now for my 500s. I kept waiting for the workout to fall apart, but it didn't happen. All summer that's been the case because of the heat, but today it was just so nice and cool! My 500s were no problem. Yes, I did work them hard, but they were really fast and I felt good. I did them in 2:36.9, 2:35.8, 2:35.4, and 2:34.9.
What a relief! A good workout, finally. Now I can begin to feel a little more excited about the 30k. Hopefully this workout didn't take too much out of me and I'll be up for a good 20k on Saturday. I expect it will be fine.
Garmin data here.
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
15K
I still have a few symptoms from my current cold: mostly congestion and runny nose with a little fatigue. The sore throat is gone and I never felt really lousy like I did with the cold before the 40K. I still didn't wake up eager to go, that's for sure, especially after how tough a slog 15K was on Saturday. But the weather was really nice at 55F (13C) and clear and calm, and that made it easier to get out there.
The walk itself went OK. It was much better than Saturday's 15K, and that showed in the time. 5K splits: 30:38, 31:31, 31:40. Total time 1:33:49 for 6:15/km with ave HR 143. I wasn't dying at the end like on Saturday, and could have done another 5K without too much problem, so hopefully 20K this Saturday will be all right.
The only problem I did have was that my right hip started to bother me again - I am pretty sure it's the piriformis, and it hurt more going uphill (even on a very gradual slope) than downhill. It helped to think of using my left glutes more and also making sure I brought my right knee through low, but that didn't eliminate the discomfort. Stretching periodically (every few km at the end) helped a lot. Hopefully this won't worsen as I train more over the next few weeks.
I'm not too sore now; just a little bit as I'd normally expect. Maybe this week won't be so bad?
Garmin data here.
The walk itself went OK. It was much better than Saturday's 15K, and that showed in the time. 5K splits: 30:38, 31:31, 31:40. Total time 1:33:49 for 6:15/km with ave HR 143. I wasn't dying at the end like on Saturday, and could have done another 5K without too much problem, so hopefully 20K this Saturday will be all right.
The only problem I did have was that my right hip started to bother me again - I am pretty sure it's the piriformis, and it hurt more going uphill (even on a very gradual slope) than downhill. It helped to think of using my left glutes more and also making sure I brought my right knee through low, but that didn't eliminate the discomfort. Stretching periodically (every few km at the end) helped a lot. Hopefully this won't worsen as I train more over the next few weeks.
I'm not too sore now; just a little bit as I'd normally expect. Maybe this week won't be so bad?
Garmin data here.
Monday, October 01, 2012
cross-training
My coach changed my workouts to make them easier for a few days so that I could recover better. Good timing, too, as I got another cold virus; this time a minor one, but still enough to slow me down a bit. I've got a minor sore throat, some congestion, and tinnitus in my left ear.
Today I had cross-training (instead of the originally planned 10K fartlek). I opted for 30 min on the elliptical plus biking up the big hill to work (~21 minutes today). I'll bike to the kids' school this afternoon to get them and we'll do some skating practice I think.
Oh, and yesterday was a rest day.
I feel pretty good today - the soreness from Saturday's 15K is pretty much gone, so I think I'm ready for 15K tomorrow.
Today I had cross-training (instead of the originally planned 10K fartlek). I opted for 30 min on the elliptical plus biking up the big hill to work (~21 minutes today). I'll bike to the kids' school this afternoon to get them and we'll do some skating practice I think.
Oh, and yesterday was a rest day.
I feel pretty good today - the soreness from Saturday's 15K is pretty much gone, so I think I'm ready for 15K tomorrow.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
15K
Good thing my coach is so good. He knew today would be tough. I was assigned 20K, but he told me on Thursday that if I didn't have it not to do the full 20K, and that it wouldn't matter much for the 30K race. Well, he was right, and it was really hard today. My legs were still very sore from Thursday's workout, and by 6.5k they were not only sore but really tired, too. I still managed a better pace than Tuesday's 12K, so it could have been worse! Plus, it was a lovely morning (50F or 10C to start, sunny, clear) and it was SO nice to be outside. I enjoyed that much even if the walk itself really hurt. I *could* have done 5K more, but with the week ahead...yeah, not a good idea. It would have really hurt - I was slowing down quite a lot and my legs were done.
5K splits: 31:38, 32:07, 32:53 for 1:36:38; 6:27/km average pace; ave HR 138.
Garmin data here.
***
Yesterday: cross-training (elliptical), abs/core/stretching with Lisa, plus biking to work.
***
Also of note - my mom was hiking yesterday in Little Cottonwood Canyon with my aunt, who's visiting from Dallas, TX. My mom fell and fractured her tibia badly; it took the paramedics almost 8 hours to get her down from the trail. They were on the Red Pine trail and were several miles from the trailhead when she fell, and she had to be carried down since she couldn't walk (of course!). She had surgery at 3:30 am this morning and is doing OK now. She'll be in the hospital a few more days, so I'm off to visit her soon.
5K splits: 31:38, 32:07, 32:53 for 1:36:38; 6:27/km average pace; ave HR 138.
Garmin data here.
***
Yesterday: cross-training (elliptical), abs/core/stretching with Lisa, plus biking to work.
***
Also of note - my mom was hiking yesterday in Little Cottonwood Canyon with my aunt, who's visiting from Dallas, TX. My mom fell and fractured her tibia badly; it took the paramedics almost 8 hours to get her down from the trail. They were on the Red Pine trail and were several miles from the trailhead when she fell, and she had to be carried down since she couldn't walk (of course!). She had surgery at 3:30 am this morning and is doing OK now. She'll be in the hospital a few more days, so I'm off to visit her soon.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
10K kickdown
The first week back in training continues to be painful, as expected. Today's workout was a 10K kickdown, and I drove to the track with some apprehension. To make things more complicated, the high school cross country team was there for part of the time (up until about 5km of my workout) and I had to RW in lane 2 for a while because they were doing 400m intervals. Bummer. At least the weather was good; it was lovely at 57F (14C) and clear and calm.
In the first 400m I knew I was in trouble today. I was really stiff and sore, and felt I was walking through mud, with heavy, tired legs. It a lot of concentration to maintain 3:10/500m (6:20/k) to start, as my coach and I had agreed upon. I did 15:44 for the first 2.5km, 6 seconds under the goal of 15:50. Then I had to really focus to speed it up to 3:05/500m. I pulled a couple 3:06s and a 3:05 and then a 3:10 and I groaned inwardly and tried to refocus. I'm ashamed to admit that I nearly quit the workout at several points today. Mentally, I was not in the zone at all, and I kept doubting myself. Why did I need to do the 30K? I could just quit now and spare myself all the hard training, which might go all for nothing again like the 40K. Similar thoughts bombarded me and I couldn't push them away effectively. I finally told myself to take it 500m at a time and just go from there, and managed a 3:01, but I was still only halfway through the workout. The second 2.5km was 15:30, 5 seconds slower than the goal.
Somehow I kept going and managed to go faster. I told myself I could quit if I still wanted to when I got to 7.5km. I did 3:01, 3:01, 3:01, 2:57, and 3:01 for the next 500s, getting to 7.5km in 15:01, only 1 second shy of my goal. I stopped for about 30 seconds to give myself a pep talk and to mentally refocus, as I was doubting everything so much. I don't know how I managed to start again, but I did it, and oddly enough, when I asked for leg speed, there was something there! Strangely, the last 2.5km wasn't so terrible. I felt lousy, true, but had some strength despite that. It was weird. I managed 2:54.0, 2:52.5, 2:54.7, 2:55.2 and 2:51.3 for a last 2.5K time of 14:27.7. That is not even close to my best, but you know, considering how lousy I felt today, breaking 14:30 felt like an amazing accomplishment.
Finishing was the real accomplishment today, though. I felt so mentally weak, and it actually scared me a bit. Time to firm up my desire and motivation and picture some positive results from all this hard work. That's difficult to do following a bad race, but it's what I need to do if I'm going to do well at the 30K. So much of this is in your head.
Total time: 1:00:43
Garmin data here.
In the first 400m I knew I was in trouble today. I was really stiff and sore, and felt I was walking through mud, with heavy, tired legs. It a lot of concentration to maintain 3:10/500m (6:20/k) to start, as my coach and I had agreed upon. I did 15:44 for the first 2.5km, 6 seconds under the goal of 15:50. Then I had to really focus to speed it up to 3:05/500m. I pulled a couple 3:06s and a 3:05 and then a 3:10 and I groaned inwardly and tried to refocus. I'm ashamed to admit that I nearly quit the workout at several points today. Mentally, I was not in the zone at all, and I kept doubting myself. Why did I need to do the 30K? I could just quit now and spare myself all the hard training, which might go all for nothing again like the 40K. Similar thoughts bombarded me and I couldn't push them away effectively. I finally told myself to take it 500m at a time and just go from there, and managed a 3:01, but I was still only halfway through the workout. The second 2.5km was 15:30, 5 seconds slower than the goal.
Somehow I kept going and managed to go faster. I told myself I could quit if I still wanted to when I got to 7.5km. I did 3:01, 3:01, 3:01, 2:57, and 3:01 for the next 500s, getting to 7.5km in 15:01, only 1 second shy of my goal. I stopped for about 30 seconds to give myself a pep talk and to mentally refocus, as I was doubting everything so much. I don't know how I managed to start again, but I did it, and oddly enough, when I asked for leg speed, there was something there! Strangely, the last 2.5km wasn't so terrible. I felt lousy, true, but had some strength despite that. It was weird. I managed 2:54.0, 2:52.5, 2:54.7, 2:55.2 and 2:51.3 for a last 2.5K time of 14:27.7. That is not even close to my best, but you know, considering how lousy I felt today, breaking 14:30 felt like an amazing accomplishment.
Finishing was the real accomplishment today, though. I felt so mentally weak, and it actually scared me a bit. Time to firm up my desire and motivation and picture some positive results from all this hard work. That's difficult to do following a bad race, but it's what I need to do if I'm going to do well at the 30K. So much of this is in your head.
Total time: 1:00:43
Garmin data here.
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