After Calgary 70.3, I took most of August off. It was the right decision. I needed a break from the routine and I needed to really want to get back at it. It worked.
When I went into September, I was excited and ready to go. Kindergarten year! Plenty of easily accessed childfree training time! A 10K in a few weeks, a couple half marathons. A weekend trip to Arizona in November. I was prepared to have a great fall season.
And then it didn't quite go how I planned. The first few weeks were good. Things were clicking, and I was getting back into it. How glorious it was to be able to just run again, and not be afraid anymore about whether my foot was actually better. I no longer felt the need to constantly think about it. No more niggles from there.
Then I did my first race: The Melissa's 10K, one that I never did get a race report up for. (It actually is half written, but I never finished it.)
Here's the short story:
Last year, I did this race in just over an hour, so I decided I could do it in just under an hour this year. Never mind the fact that I spent months either injured or on reduced activity while recovering from that injury...
I pushed myself from the start, and it's a hard course. You run up a mountain, literally. At the half way point, I was suffering, but by then you are going downhill, so I figured I could make up time. At the 7 km mark, I was still pushing. At the 8km mark, I puked. Yes, 2 km too soon. Then I finished it off at a much reduced pace, crossing the finish line about 5 minutes past the hour mark.
Here's the short story:
Last year, I did this race in just over an hour, so I decided I could do it in just under an hour this year. Never mind the fact that I spent months either injured or on reduced activity while recovering from that injury...
I pushed myself from the start, and it's a hard course. You run up a mountain, literally. At the half way point, I was suffering, but by then you are going downhill, so I figured I could make up time. At the 7 km mark, I was still pushing. At the 8km mark, I puked. Yes, 2 km too soon. Then I finished it off at a much reduced pace, crossing the finish line about 5 minutes past the hour mark.
The race itself wasn't what did me in though. Interestingly, I was okay with my finishing time. I had one of those "look how far I've come" moments. I reflected on my first 10k, not even 3 years ago, when I finished in a hard fought 1:06. To be able to finish a much tougher course, on a bad day, in 1:05, really is an accomplishment.
It was training after that did me in.
Because after that race, I started to push myself to run at the pace that I used to be able to run at. We talk about competition and comparisons all the time. The only person you should compare yourself to is yourself, right? And that's what I was doing. I wasn't trying to keep up with my 20 year old track star self. I was simply trying to keep up with myself from a year or two ago.
And I couldn't do it. I'd start out most of my runs too fast, fade badly and finish, frustrated that, once again, I just couldn't hold the pace. I was falling apart.
Meanwhile a lot has been going on in my family life. Not bad. Just changes. And, quite frankly, I prefer stability. (This is all a blog post for another time.)
I couldn't figure out how to right myself, how to get back on track. Finally, I had a good long chat with Angie, my coach.
Getting back on track:
Meanwhile a lot has been going on in my family life. Not bad. Just changes. And, quite frankly, I prefer stability. (This is all a blog post for another time.)
I couldn't figure out how to right myself, how to get back on track. Finally, I had a good long chat with Angie, my coach.
Getting back on track:
No more pace on my garmin for now. I am still using it, but the dominant number I'm watching on it is my heart rate. Pace is recorded, but it isn't displayed.
Getting my food back in line. I slipped there too. It's a symptom for me, when things start coming apart, but it can become a disease in and of itself. Track what I eat. Base my meals on protein and vegetables. I still eat plenty of carbs, but the key for me is not to base my food choices around them. Cut out the sugar.
I've had some good runs. And a good half marathon. It was a really challenging course too. It would have been so easy to blow up on the many hills, but I held an even effort for the race, rather then an even pace. It let me finish strong.
I've had some good runs. And a good half marathon. It was a really challenging course too. It would have been so easy to blow up on the many hills, but I held an even effort for the race, rather then an even pace. It let me finish strong.
I haven't felt like I'm quite there yet. And, tonight, while participating in a spin class with my team, I realized the missing element. Reaching out to my support structure. Blogging about my training. Finding opportunities to train with friends. I am, and always will be, primarily a solo triathlete. The time I train alone helps me find my centre, but I also need to run with a friend sometimes or suffer next to each other on trainers.
Deb Tris is back.
