Going into my coaching stint for this clinic, I don’t think I really set much of a goal for myself. I can honestly say that I was more focused on my group. Personally, I suppose I was hoping that come race day it would be nice to shave 5 minutes off my race time, but it wasn’t something that I’ve been working hard to achieve. Hey, I was even prepping myself by saying that I’d even be happy to meet my old time. It seems like I had an expectation that my results would slip. To my surprise, it seems like I’ve been running harder as of late. During my last few tempo runs I’ve been hitting paces of 6:00/km and faster. That’s kind of crazy for me. And to hold that consistently? That’s even crazier. The idea of running a sub 30 minute 5K race might not seem so impossible now. I don’t know. I’m not going to claim anything right now because running fast on a short run won’t necessarily map over to a faster performance on race day. Still, the fact that I’ve sped up a little bit is fascinating to me. Training has a great effect. Momentum is in my favour.
Tag Archive: pace
No way he’s in front
At the beginning of our four kilometre tempo run, I overheard some small chit chat coming from the two women in front of me, wondering where I was.
“Well there’s no way he’s in front of us.”
“Shh…he might be around us.”
How rude. Sure enough, they turned around and I replied with a very dry “I’m right here.” I was a little bit annoyed, so when the path widened and everyone spread out a little I kind of sped up. I pulled ahead and kept up the pace for about 2.5 kilometres before slowing down a little again. When I slowed down the usual front runners passed me. By that point I was still far ahead of the pair so I was satisfied enough. This may be the first time I’ve put in a run with an average pace under 6:00/km. This is uncharted territory for me.
Now, I know that was a silly approach to things. Still, I kind of felt like this was one of the times I needed to assert myself. I know I tend to promote myself as a slow runner. That’s still true. However, I have been working hard to gain some speed. I’ve been pushing myself and I’ve gotten stronger. I now have the ability to run at different speeds to run with a wider range of people. For example, this past Sunday I ran a bit faster than I normally would in order to run with the front of the mid-pack group. That was my first time running with them on a Sunday, and I was successful.
Funny. It wasn’t even a particularly bitchy comment.
Covering twenty nine
I’m now at the point in marathon training where my distances on Sundays hit their biggest numbers. Three of our runs are 29K long, and 2 of them are 32K long. Today was our first 29K run. Yesterday, when I received a copy of the route that I’d be running this morning I started feeling a little bit apprehensive. The route took us way out into the countryside from which there really wasn’t any quick way out if there was any reason to bail. Also, the idea of running 4 hours was freaking me out. Sure, God knows that if I want to run a marathon I’ll be out there for a longer period: probably somewhere between 5 and 6 hours. Even so, four hours is a damn long time. The sour cherry on top of all of this was the thought that I’d be running the full thing alone.
In order to mentally digest the route, I route it all out on a sheet of paper. I listed the path, turn by turn. I wrote down the estimated distance covered at each turn. I also used Google Maps street view to get a good idea of what I’d be seeing. All of that helped to ease my mind. Also, I put the run into perspective. Two weeks ago I covered my 26K run well enough. If I could tap into that source of running Zen that I did last time, I’d be fine. Besides, what’s another 3K on top of that?
As we all gathered for a quick briefing before leaving I just stood in silence, pondering what the day would bring. It was breezy, but the sun was shining brightly. I was glad that I slapped on sunblock and brought sunglasses. Before I knew it we were off. Immediately I felt like the whole group was running a bit faster than usual. I chose to have none of that, so I took my time. They pulled out far ahead, and really, after the first 2K I had lost sight of them. I’m used to running alone, but today seeing how quickly I lost sight of them was hard. It didn’t matter though. I mean, what was I going to do? Just turn back? No. I knew they route and was determined to cover the same route they were doing. At around 3.5K I crossed paths with two of my previous running coaches in the half marathon clinic. They expressed concern saying that I shouldn’t run alone. Well, in an ideal world that wouldn’t be the case, but I can deal with that. I told myself that if I keep my focus I’ll be fine. When we parted, I started to feel even lonelier, but again I set that aside and decided to just focus on my body.
When I got to the farthest eastern point I felt like I was way out on the edge of town. I started heading north and there was no sidewalk, so I ran on the side of the road, always conscious of the occasional car that passed by. Off in the distance, I could still make out housing developments, but man, they seemed far. A couple of kilometres north and the scenery became more farm-like. Oh man. I didn’t let it scare me though. During a run, I’m generally successful at keeping my mind clear, or occupied enough to not let unnecessary things creep in. People often suggest that I run with music to keep myself occupied. Personally, I don’t like doing that because I want to maintain a level of awareness of my surroundings. As well, I need to be able to focus on my body’s warning signs instead of focusing on earphone cords, or songs that I don’t want to listen to. So what do I think about? Sometimes I focus on what’s aching and whether it’s serious. Other times I have an ongoing dialogue with myself with reassuring messages.
“Jason, you’re strong.”
“You’re getting sloppy. Check your posture.”
“Of course you’re tired. Work through it.”
All of that helps. When I’m not thinking of any of that, I might end up singing songs in my head that would be on my iPod. It works. The time flies by with all of that. I actually find a bit of strength in solitude. I can’t afford to be weak when I’m running on my own. At around 14K I started smelling cows, and for whatever reason I figured that it would be a great place to pass gas. I started farting loudly out in the countryside. I mean, everyone was far ahead; no one would hear me. Just out of curiosity I looked behind and I saw another running a few hundred metres back. Oops. It was probably far enough such that he wouldn’t hear anything, but I still felt mildly sheepish. I laughed it off though and picked up the pace to create some distance. Funny…I never saw him again. Even though I started out slow, I picked up the pace from about 7K onward. It was a decent pace (for me) and I felt strong enough.
I started feeling a bit of killer fatigue at 23K and I felt myself slowing down. I knew I had the energy to keep going though, so I focused my thoughts on my legs for a while. I knew they were tired and kind of achy, but I didn’t feel that my forward motion was being impeded. As long as I had the energy, I could continue moving. This was the running Zen state that I felt two weeks ago. I tapped into it again. That last 6K flew by.
When I got back I saw a couple of other runners from my clinic stretching by the side. I couldn’t help but cheer loudly. Before my run I was afraid that I’d be a blubbering idiot, but no, I was completely proud and ecstatic.
So, at this point I’m no longer scared of my 30K race in a few weeks. Nor am I scared of the 32K runs coming up. The full marathon is still giving me a bit of apprehension, but I can deal with that.
Sleep calls.
Running log: 2010/07/11
This was an interesting day for me. Today my run was the farthest I’ve ever gone. With all of the half-marathon training I’ve done in the past two years, really the farthest I’ve gone is about 21-22 kilometres. Of course, with marathon training the expectation is to farther than that. This week is the first week that we’re scheduled to go over, so this was entirely new for me. I was expecting to run on my own, but I kind of lucked out when someone decided that it was in her best interest to run with me. As you know, I tend to go at a slow but steady pace on Sundays. People who aren’t necessarily the slowest but tend to head out faster than they need to know that I can be counted on to keep them under control. At least, that’s the impression I get from the people I run with.
I brought along my Camelbak for the run. Yeah, that’s the water backpack that I had with me on the Scotiabank half last year. After that race I avoided using it for a long time. I was scared that I’d injure myself again. Well, especially with this rotten heat I decided that my need for water was too great to not use it. So, I’ve been making sure to secure the thing to my back as well as I can. So far, it hasn’t been bad, though today I ended up with a sore right shoulder. Better that than a sore lower back, I guess. I just need to adjust and adjust until I get it right.
Not sure I can say much about the run itself. Yes, it was hot out there, but the lack of humidity this morning made all the difference. I didn’t really feel killer fatigue at any point. Sure, I started to get worried at 17K when fatigue was knocking on my door, but I just mentally dealt with it all and carried on. I was feeling strong enough at the end that I probably could have carried on a little farther if needed, but all the same, 23K was enough. I ran into some people in my class that finished ahead of me. They told me that it looked like I was relaxed and not that sweaty. Hah! Fooled them. I used some water to splash my face along the way to keep my temperature down. As well, right after the run I walked to the end of the parking lot and back to bring my heart rate down. Seemed to work, I guess.
So, next week the mileage will jump to 26K. I think I can tackle that without feeling overwhelmed. I just need to prepare well like I did this week. I can do this!
Running log: 2010/06/20
Perhaps I’ve been getting cocky, you know? During my weekday runs, I’ve had the courage to push myself to go faster. They tend to be shorter and are supposed to be done at a relatively faster rate. From the beginning of this clinic, I’ve been surprising myself. I’ve been breaking personal records and churning out better and better times. I really need to be careful though. As much as I’m doing better on these short runs, they aren’t really an indication of whether my long runs will fare any better.
This morning I had a 16K run. I made sure to stick with the people toward the back of the group. Despite that, this group was still running a little bit fast. I tried to keep up, but several experienced people raised flags that we were running a bit too fast for our goals. We kept the pace though knowing that we’d eventually slow down. The weather this morning was hot and mildly humid. The sun was really beating on us pretty heavily. It’s probably no surprise, but my pace slowed down. I felt fine doing so though because these runs are meant to be slow, right? Still, there I was, right at the back once again. It’s been a while since I’ve experienced that. I suppose that it’s expected just by the fact that I’m in a whole other level of running now. So, yes, I need to stay humble and not let myself get too caught up. My key to running isn’t speed, but endurance. Can’t forget that.
Running log: 2010/06/03
So you all know I’m trying to take this whole marathon training thing seriously, right? That means doing the required runs, and running them at the specified paces. See, not all runs are supposed to be done at the same speed. Long slow distance runs are meant to improve anaerobic thresholds while improving mental toughness. Steady runs improve endurance and stamina, and are meant to be done at a relaxed pace. Tempo runs are meant to improve lactate thresholds and are done somewhat faster. See, each run type serves a purpose. On the schedule, for today we were supposed to be doing a 6K steady run. As we went, absolutely everyone was going fast. I still kept up with the back of the group though. I questioned the pace out loud a couple of times, but everyone was encouraging me to keep it up, so I did. Basically, the steady run morphed into a tempo run.
Honestly, I can’t say that I was happy with having done that, but I just went along with it. Sure, by the end I was feeling strong, and I ran well, but I knew that I had gone faster than I should have. There is no way this run served me in the way that it should have. I think next time I am determined to take the pace down to something appropriate for the 5 hour marathon that I’m aiming for. Sure, everyone will be way ahead of me, but I’m used to that kind of thing. There’s no reason for me to work so hard. I need to train intelligently.
Running log: 2009/10/11
Today was my first day back at the Running Room since my race two weeks ago. I know that I could have come back earlier, but I forced myself to have a rest. Actually, I’m not sure that “forced” is the right word, because it’s not like I didn’t enjoy my little bit of time away. God knows I could use the break. Being away makes me appreciate the sport all the more, right? Besides, with the Angus Glen Half Marathon coming on November 1 I figured that I should get some mileage in. Most of all, I wanted to do something to get my confidence back. It’s one thing to acknowledge that a race sucked due to conditions that weren’t due to ability. I think deep in my subconscious though I wouldn’t be satisfied until I had a good run. So, I went in wanting to do 21K. Yeah, I know…2 weeks of little to no activity then suddenly jumping in to do 21? It’s a lot! I’m not belittling the distance at all, but I figured that it I could manage one way or another. I’ve done it enough times to know my limits.
So, since there are no half marathon clinics going I thought that I’d be on my own. When I got there, indeed, I was the only one running 21. It’s not like I announced it, because I didn’t want anyone to come along. Everyone’s so much faster than me that I didn’t want to burden anyone, know what I mean? As we were filing out, I spotted two people from the half marathon clinic that just finished. It’s their final week before their big race this coming Sunday, so they were looking to do a shorter 10K tapering run. Knowing the route, I decided to tag along with them and split off at some point to do the rest of my mileage while they headed back. Great plan, really. Thing is, they’re naturally fast people! I actually made myself work a little bit harder to keep up with them. It wasn’t so bad, really. Since they were only doing 10K, they could put in the extra effort. In my case, I figured that one I’d let them go I could ease up a little bit. And once we split off that’s exactly what I did. My average pace dipped down, but I didn’t mind; I was just happy to be out there. I was feeling great throughout, but I admit to feeling a bit fatigued by 18-19K. On the really hilly parts I stopped for a moment or two on occasion to regroup. Overall, I finished the route in less time that my last race. I could say that it speaks volumes about how much I’ve improved. However, really it just outlines just how terrible that race really was. Oh well. In completing 21 kilometres, I accomplished what I had set out to do, and that was just the act of feeling better about myself. I can say that the mission was accomplished.
A humbling and frustrating race
Today was entirely humbling, and very frustrating. Before I get into any details, I want to open with this following picture.
The feedback that I’m getting from just about everyone is “the important thing is that you finished.” The medal pictured above is proof. Yes, that’s great, however, knowing that I completed the race doesn’t make me feel any better for having what I consider to be a really rough race. How rough? I actually missed my old time for last year’s Waterfront Half. By extension, tat also means that I missed my personal best by a very wide margin. Now, can you see why I’m somewhat disappointed in myself? So what happened? Let me give the breakdown after the jump.
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