I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was great and I kicked it
off with the Bethesda 10k Turkey Chase.
Now, in my opinion all turkey trots should be just for fun, but I never
really raced a 10k before and though it might be neat to go under 50 minutes.
We arrived with plenty of time before the race and met up with Sarah,
Rachel, Victoria, and Cat in sparkling style. Jason was a party pooper and
didn't want to wear a skirt, but he wore an awesome turkey hat instead. It was
pretty cold out and we could not wait inside the YMCA so we all huddled inside
my car to stay warm.
As the start time got closer we made our way over the start and before we
knew it, we were running over the timing mat.
Now, I had forgot my garmin - if that tells you anything about how I felt
about this race. To be honest I could have slept in and been just as happy
missing it. Anyhow, I'm not sure why I thought I could fun fast. Fast and me
have not been getting along lately. Actually I have no clue how in the world I
ever ran with a 8 minute pace for 13 miles. Running a little under 8 minute
miles for 6 miles should not be that hard. But yeah couldn't do it.
My first mile was too fast and I was waiting for V and R to catch back up
to me so I could just run with them since we all had the same goal. Once they
found me I was already to the point that I didn't feel like talking and I was
sick of running. I never bothered to look at the course map and had no clue it
was filled with hills. Up hills, down hills, over hills to the finish line
we went. I could not keep up with them and pretty much threw in the towel at
mile 3 only. I crossed the finish line in a disappointing and slow for me 53 to
54 minutes something.
I don't know what is up lately? Everything feels so hard. But at the same
time I don't know what I was expecting since I had been on vacation last week
and didn't run once, actually I didn't do anything at all.
Ever since finishing ironman, I don't know, I feel like I have lost my
will. I want to improve. I want to get faster. But I have not done the work.
Between two vacations, training for a "fun" marathon that was not at a pace I
wanted to run, and probably not giving myself enough time to recover before
Richmond has left me...well...not wanting to race.
With Richmond and now this turkey trot - I am struggling. I have lost my
confidence. I had one more race this year, the Surf-n-Santa 10 miler, but I'm
scrapping it. I don't feel like running another race were I don't do as well
as I want to. I know I have been slacking and I know this is a cop out, but I
don't want to continue to feel bad about myself. So I think skipping out on this
race is the right thing to do. I want to run a spring half where I have a decent
training cycle with tempos and track work. I want to feel confident going into
my next race.
Ok enough complaining. I have gotten off track here. Back to the Turkey
Trot. Even though I didn't have a great run I did still have fun. I mean after
all it's a turkey trot and I had a turkey hat. Plus I got to spend my morning
with great friends so I couldn't really ask for anything more.
Happy Friday All :)
I think it surprised me how long it took me to recover- both mentally and physically from ironman. You've done so much this season, you should be proud and give yourself a break. Take a real rest and get back to structured training once your desire returns - and it will!! Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteDude, off season! Take a break and don't train hard until Janurary.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to tell you that you are fast and that was a great showing, but it sounds like you already made up your mind :-) Just a little burn out probably which is completely understandable with the awesome year you've had! Take a break and you'll know when you're ready to come back!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got out there and had fun. Have you considered that you might be overtrained? Do you ever check your heart rate during runs? Symptoms are feeling like crap during your runs, not having motivation, a higher resting heart rate, and not caring as much as you used to. I think that with some rest and some time you will be back to your old self.
ReplyDeleteYou already know what I think, but I will continue to dissent from the "rest more" voices. A targeted recovery cycle, along with a series of deep tissue massages to deal with your accumulated fatigue and scar tissue, is sometimes in order. However, even during a recovery cycle, you can target weaknesses that you want to improve. In other words, low season, not off season.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with being unhappy about your times and trying to pinpoint how to improve so that you are more satisfied with your results. And if part of that plan includes pulling the plug on races so that you have time to regather yourself, that's fine, too.
P.S. Yesterday morning was awesome. I mean, minus the 50 some minutes we spent on that insanely hilly course.
Well I'm not a coach, but I think you know yourself best. If you want to take time off, do it. If you want to run more, do it. And don't forget you can always ask Coach Kiwi.
ReplyDeleteI think you are doing great, you did just do an Ironman a few months ago! But trust me, I know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteI know you will be back where you want to be in no time!
I can only imagine how much Ironman took out of you. I know how I feel after a marathon and I can only guess that it's a million times worse after 140.6 miles. I hope you can figure out how to get back where you want to be, whether it's time off, a bit more rest or changing your training around.
ReplyDelete