Wednesday, April 4, 2012

One day a PR, Next day I'm WALKING home? Help WANTED

I need help, advice, a kick in the ass....I'm willing to take anything if it helps.  All I know is today I made, what I think, is one of the worst mistakes...I quit.  I did.  I went out to do a mid-tempo run and just downright stopped and walked home after the second mile. 

I just PR'd with a 2:01:20 this weekend in Atlantic city...which I am super excited about....the frustrating part is that I have my eyes set on a sub 2.  Yes, now you can see the problem.  During that beautiful AC run, yours truly stopped at least 6 times.  Not long but certainly long enough to call it a stop. 

Very long and complaining story short, I need to build the mind and I need your help!
Here are some of the facts:
* I felt great after the 1/2- no soreness which was weird for me.
* Rested and did nothing for two days.
*Trying to hit an 8:57 for a mid-tempo run.  (I'm wondering if I'm going out too fast...burning out too quick?)
(ps...to you fast runners...too quick for me and too quick for you are two different things.  Please take that into consideration.  Thanks so much. )
All this going fast stuff is new to me.  I am not good at feeling uncomfortable. 
I need help feeling uncomfortable.  I need push.  I need direction with this...
Feel free to advise....
Yours truly,
The Girl Who Will Think All Day About How She Didn't Finish Her Run.

10 comments:

  1. So close to a sub 2! I'm hoping for that as well this month, but I have a feeling I'll be closer to your 2:01:20...

    Great job on your PR!!

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  2. Oh you are so close!!!! First it is not a problem...those runs happen to everyone! Maybe you should have your first mile of a tempo run be a little slower. Then begin to push the pace. Remember as long as you stay away from 9 min on each mile you will get under 2. In the end...embrace the pain. There will be a day where you will no longer be feeling it. You will get there!!!

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  3. You are so, so, so close to a sub 2!!! I always start my runs and races out slower and then gradually get faster. I am also obsessed with my garmin- she keeps me on track to make sure that I am on pace. :-)

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  4. I think sometimes you need to take life into consideration as well...full time working parent during a VERY BUSY school time right now...CSE's, annual reviews, upcoming state testing, potty training, temper tantrums, out of state races, planning vacations, packing for vacations, laundry for vacations, yada, yada, yada...

    I think that when these things happen, it is your body's way of asking you to either "slow down", or "be kind to it"!

    I believe htat training is very difficult...more for the mind for someone like you who has been running quite a bit...maybe a little harder on the body for those who are either just starting or recovering. nonetheless, you are strong, you are determined, you are not weak...you are tired and your body wasn't up to it!
    You didn't quit...I know you well and it is NOT your style! Just think of Jillian in your face telling you that she will get "really pissed off" if you quit (ha ha)...

    be kind to your body and listen to it...words I've heard from you all too often lately ;)

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  5. oh man oh man. i HATE speedwork and running fast. i would take a nice easy run any day of the week. my trick is that i do like hills...i like the challenge and feeling like i just conquered a tough route. so sometimes i just try to incorporate a lot of hills as strength and speed training in disguise. however, i know that when i have seen speed improvements...it has been when i do incorporate speed work. i am pretty terrified of the track...so if i am doing longer repeats...i actually just do them as part of my run whereever i am. sometimes though i may just make it a goal to sprint the first 2 minutes of every mile or something like that...it sounds "easy" and not too overwhelming!

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  6. Congrats on your pr!! That must feel amazing! My guess is that you're not fully recovered. You raced hard, and the general rule of thumb is one day for every mile raced... not that you can't run during that time, but mostly stick to easy recovery runs). Try the adding tempo runs back about 10-13 days after a half marathon, and you should find your speed again. It's in there! :)

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  7. Congrats on the PR! Doing a tempo run 2 days after a half marathon doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Seems like a good way to possibly get injured if you aren't careful. I bet your body is still somewhat recovering from the race, even if you feel okay. I would just do easy runs this week at least, and then maybe next week try the same run again, and I bet it will go just fine. If you did a half marathon at 9 min pace, you definitely can do a 9 min pace tempo run, I bet you can even hit 8:30 to 8:45 pace next time.

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  8. I'm your newest follower and am so glad I came across your blog! Congrats on your PR! I'm impressed that you can find a time to balance and enjoy all the wonderful things going on in your life! I just started running this year and have enjoyed every minute of it! I can't wait to hear all about your teaching and running adventures! :-)

    Chelsea
    divinginandmakingasplash.blogspot.com

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  9. Congrats on the PR! As others have said, don't put too much importance on a bad training day. That's all it was -- a bad training day. You had a great race, and that's way more important.

    (Although.... I will warn you that my coach would tell you didn't race hard enough if you weren't sore afterward. Meaning, you have more to give out there.) You can do it! Ease into the speedwork, and soon it will be your favorite workout of the week. Promise.

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  10. Speaking from experience, it's best to run easy the week after a half, longer for a marathon. What happened to you is that you may have felt fine, but your body wasn't recovered enough to hit tempo pace. It's better to wait a week before doing any hard and/or long runs, then incorporate some strides into one or two of your runs next week.

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